Finding a reliable lawyer to work with who can represent your company no matter what kind of legal issues it faces in the coming years can be ovrewhelming, especially if you aren't sure what kinds of legal support you may need as your business grows. This blog outlines a variety of legal issues to consider while building your company, so you now what kind of legal representation to keep on hand at all times. You can also expect to learn how to go about finding the right lawyer to work with in any unique situation that you might find yourself in.
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Finding the Right Legal Representation for Your Company
Why A Witness Should Hire A Criminal Defense Attorney
Tracy Roberts
One of the most surprising things folks who are witnesses to crime discover is that they may need to retain counsel. There are several reasons why it's smart to consider hiring a criminal defense firm to represent your interests as a witness. Let's look at four of the more compelling arguments for hiring a lawyer.
You May Be the Target of an Investigation
Police officers and prosecutors have very little obligation to play it straight with folks as they investigate crimes. Unless you've been through the arraignment process and named as a defendant in a case, there is no legally recognized status for what you are. The cops might say you're a witness, bystander, or person of interest, but those ideas have close to zero meaning. No court is going to enforce your status as a witness if the police change their tune and call you a defendant.
Stories Don't Always Match
Folks confronted with crimes don't always take the most charitable view of witnesses, and it's not uncommon for them to cast doubts on the witnesses in a case. You might be 100% confident that you were an innocent bystander, but the defendant's attorney might think you look like a good way to raise concerns about the prosecution's case. Likewise, cops sometimes buy the subject's stories. It's best to lawyer up before that sort of thing happens.
Pressuring Games
Just because you didn't participate in the primary offense, doesn't mean you're out of the woods. Prosecutors are comfortable using the threat of charges to bring witnesses to the table. A DA might not particularly like your version of events, and they may decide to threaten to charge you as an accessory to see if they can spook you into giving them more.
Sometimes this tactic is meant to put something on the table just so they can take it off. For example, they might drop the threatened charges in exchange for additional cooperation.
Process Crimes
Another way seemingly innocent witnesses can become defendants is through what are known as process crimes. These are essentially offenses against the justice system, such as destroying evidence, lying to the FBI, tampering with witnesses, or obstructing justice. If a police officer or prosecutor takes exception to how you've handled the situation, they might choose to charge you. They can do this even if there's zero connection between you and the original offense they were investigating.
Reach out to a criminal defense attorney for more information.
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