You would not believe how often people call our offices, asking to talk to an attorney about the child abuse charges they’re facing, and then ask if there’s any way we can take the case since they already have an attorney. Specifically, they have an attorney that was assigned to them by the court. Which means they probably haven’t ever met their attorney (in fact, they probably have no idea who their attorney is!), and the first hearing is coming up soon. They’re scared and desperate and they have no idea what to do next…

You are never “stuck” with an attorney.

An attorney/client relationship is like any other legal business relationship – you enter into it voluntarily, and you leave whenever you want to. There’s no law saying you have to keep the first attorney you hired, or that once the court has assigned you an attorney, that’s the only legal counsel you can have for the rest of that case. If you aren’t happy with your lawyer, you are free to leave at any time and hire a different one.

But the court already assigned me a lawyer!

Okay, so you were accused of hurting a child and the cops showed up and arrested you. It was scary and embarrassing and one of the many things you’re worried about is money. Sitting in the back of that cop car you thought about how expensive a good attorney was going to be, and you decided to take a risk and get the free lawyer. But after your court appointed attorney didn’t show up for your first hearing (because they were probably already in a different court, attending to one of the many other cases they got this month), you started to reconsider. Maybe this whole free lawyer thing wasn’t such a good idea after all…

So how do you switch attorneys in Michigan?

Lucky for you, this part is easy. You just call up a reputable child abuse defense attorney who has loads of good reviews and a reputation for getting great results, and tell them you want to hire them to defend you. There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? But what about your court appointed attorney? Well, what about them? Your new attorney will let them know that you no longer need their services, and get whatever paperwork and court documents they may have had on your case. And as for that public defender, they won’t miss you. They’re so busy they probably won’t even notice that you’re gone!

If it’s that easy, why doesn’t everyone do it?

The truth? Money. The court appointed attorney is free, whereas a private defense attorney costs money. And not everyone has that kind of cash on hand. So unfortunately, the benefits of a vigorous defense isn’t available to everyone. And there are many people out there who could afford it, but because it’s expensive and they don’t want to empty their savings accounts on something as unpleasant as a lawyer, they opt for the free attorney. But the fact is, when it comes to legal defense, you get what you pay for.

Child abuse is a big deal, and you should take the charges very seriously!

Join us next time, when we’ll be looking at why you would want to hire an attorney instead of just using whatever attorney the courts gave you. It may seem like a case of “one attorney is as good as the next” but we promise, it really isn’t! If you’ve been accused of abusing or neglecting a child, you’re up against some very serious charges, and your future is on the line, so the choices you make now will have a huge impact on your future. So start by making the right choice when it comes to your attorney, and calling 866 766 5245. We’re standing by to help you.