What are the fees required to hire a criminal lawyer from a reputed Singapore law firm?
If you are dealing with a criminal offense, you need to hire an
experienced Criminal lawyer who is well-aware of Law in
Singapore. Before hiring a lawyer from a reputed Singapore law firm,
it is necessary to understand the criminal practice and the niche area for
lawyers. There are only a few lawyers who are well-experienced in practicing
criminal law.
Additionally, it is also essential to understand the economics behind
criminal law in Singapore to understand the kind of fee
arrangements you can expect. Criminal law is a reality that many clients in
criminal practice can't afford to pay for when a criminal lawyer needs
to give each client individual attention. Due to this, fixed fee arrangements,
capped fee arrangements, and estimated fee ranges dominate in the illegal
practice, and hourly billing is almost unheard.
What if you need to claim a trial for your criminal charges?
If you are taking help from a PG lawyer to claim a trial, he/she will:
- Decline to act
for you, or
- Try to
persuade you to plead guilty instead.
However, you should know that even an experienced criminal lawyer will
also encourage you to consider a guilty plea in appropriate circumstances.
According to the law in Singapore, acquittals after trial are
relatively rare, and it is actually in a client's interest to plead guilty. In
many cases, there is less chance of not claiming trial. Hence, the chances of
success are low, e.g., capital cases or mandatory minimum sentences of lengthy
imprisonment.
If you think there is any possibility you want to contest the charges
against you:
- Always hire an
experienced criminal lawyer from a famous Singapore
law firm, and he/she has the ability and the will to do so when it is
in your interest, and
- Be
straight-forward in stating that you can afford to pay whatever fees have
been proposed should your case go to trial.
What will you get for a fixed fee PG?
When you receive a quote from your criminal lawyer, he/she will tell you
about their work they will do for you which include,
- Write a letter
of representation to the prosecution;
- Possibly hold
one short meeting with the prosecution;
- Write a written plea of mitigation for submission to court;
- Show up in
court to adjourn your court date until 1-3 above has been done; and
- Show up in the
court on the date you plead guilty to highlight a few points from your
written mitigation plea.
You need to be aware that any fixed price quote you receive typically
excludes GST and disbursements and the fees to be paid should there be any
appeal of the outcome by either you or the prosecution. Hence, it is advisable
to discuss all the kinds of disbursements anticipated in your case in advance
so that you can plan your budget accordingly.
When do criminal lawyers expect to be paid?
A criminal lawyer usually requires payment of a deposit
before they will agree to go on record as your lawyer. Fees depend on your
case's stages, with the final amount to be received before the date of your
trial or guilty plea. Also, lawyers can discharge themselves from acting
further for clients, even on the day of trial or guilty plea, if they didn't
receive the payment. It is essential to make sure that your criminal
lawyer has been paid before the appointed date.
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