Is a lawyer worth the money?



CLEVE M. JOHNSON 495 South High Street, Suite 400; Columbus, Ohio 43215-5058 (first building south of courthouse) Map (614) 299-8235__________________cj@clevejohnson.com
HOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION •Do you need a serious defense? •Would you rather keep it simple? •Do you absolutely have to drive? •Are OVI's impossible to win? •21 ways to "beat" the test •Mistakes made in OVI cases. •Myths about OVI cases. •After court checklist SPECIAL HAZARDS •Is your job on the line? •Commercial driver's licenses •Are you a pilot? •Can an OVI be a death sentence? EXPERIENCE & CREDENTIALS •Qualifications and experience •The real best lawyers •State Bar Journal Article ATTORNEY'S FEES •Attorney fee answers & "secrets". •Is a lawyer worth the money? OVI LAWS & PENALTIES •OVI penalties •Drinks & alchool levels DRIVING UNDER SUSPENSION •Myths and misunderstandings •DUS and no ops penalties LICENSE SUSPENSION CASES •22 ways to win point cases •48 ways to lose your license LOCATION AND MAP .
		IS HIRING A LAWYER WORTH THE MONEY?

	Do I need a lawyer? For reasons which are largely political, drunk driving cases have become unnecessarily complicated. Lawyers and judges charged with drunk driving usually hire lawyers to represent them. If lawyers and judges don't represent themselves, should you? Thinking of representing yourself? Consider the following: • Do you know the sentencing patter of the judge that will sentence you? •Do you mistakenly think that all judges give the minimum sentence. •Do you know how to control which judge you get? •Do you mistakenly think that a judge will be persuaded not to impose a mandatory penalty because it will cost you your job? •Could amending your charges make a difference? Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of the various amendments? Do you know how to persuade the prosecutor to agree to this?		What can a lawyer do for me? Even if you are guilty, that doesn’t mean that a lawyer can’t help you. Under the right circumstances, almost every penalty the law imposes can be changed. The problem is that people who are not lawyers almost always go about this the wrong way. How this can be done depends on a detailed understanding of each particular case. There is no substitute for the advice of an experienced and informed lawyer Is it important to have a lawyer that focuses on OVI cases? Handling lots of drunk driving cases doesn’t ensure that the lawyer is good; however, a lawyer who handles few of these cases probably has not put the time in to learn the law in this area thoroughly, or to keep up with recent developments. Drunk driving cases are unnecessarily complex. For example,the drunk driving statute is actually much longer than the murder statute. As a result a lawyer that does not spend a lot of time in this area may not recognize available defenses and ways to obtain less severe penalties. Any fool can plead clients guilty. What most clients want is a lawyer with enough experience to intelligently evaluate a case and recognize opportunities that will benefit the client. See also note re: National College For DUI Defense.