Executive Defense Services

Venue: This refers to location and jurisdiction. It matters where someone is accused. Questions to consider include: Who is the chief prosecutor? Who are the probable trial court judges? What is the media impact and which reporters are headlining? What are jury pool demographics? And so much more.

Why is this important? Lawyers who don’t know the local landscape are at a distinct disadvantage – particularly when proceedings end up in plea agreements. If negotiations are necessary (and when is this not a fact?), relationships matter. Don’t confuse respect and a healthy dose of humility with friendship. Quite the contrary. It is our distinct experience that prosecutors and trial judges show respect and deference to lawyers with strong records in their jurisdiction.

Arguably, if a trial is imminent, this familiarity is less important and sometimes it’s best to be the stranger from afar. But, when all the chips are on the line, to think that expertise and drive alone will get the accused to the finish line is fool’s gold thinking.

1. Resources. Lawyers and especially criminal defense trial (plea) lawyers must evidence a major investment into their team. It takes a village to competently represent an accused offender. This doesn’t mean a large law firm necessarily, but it does mean that your chosen legal leader must be extremely well connected with experts and specialists in every field sensitive to your case, your special circumstances. Caution! Do your homework. Check out for yourselves and lean hard on Q|Nav to make sure the team is intact and adequate to measure up to the defendant’s level of needs. Mostly, we are here to help you choose the right leaders, keep an eye on them, monitor their progress, and overall make sure that the team built for you is no less than A+ quality.
2. Reality. Here’s how it usually goes. Problems become urgent. You’ve received a complaint, indictment, information, threat of arrest, etc. You or loved ones know a lawyer, ask around for referrals sometimes embarrassed that you even need to go down this road. So, often the sphere of possibilities is tiny and preconceived. Danger. This is the recipe for failure. The odds of success finding your savior this way? Slim and none.
3. Getting Started. Take a look at our portal Q1 about getting started in the criminal proceeding process as a defendant. Somebody – us or someone else who knows what they are doing has to do the following with you or risk awful failure before you even get started.

• Data gathering. Trained, compassionate professionals MUST sit down with you, loved ones (if appropriate), close advisors, friends – whoever has influence with the accused person…at the very beginning.
• This is the time the accused and associates tell their story, facts, observations, ideas, fears, and possible remedies; basically everything we won’t find in discovery, notes, court files, and so on.
• Case definition. Here is the key for attorney selection. Simply put, the defendant cannot choose the best counsel until he or she knows the landscape of the probable (or known) criminal charges being brought by the prosecution. What probable or precise statutes are being applied? What legal theory? What facts? What evidence – documentary, witness, expert?
• Is the mechanical “1, 2, 3” making sense? Once you have a pretty good idea of the nature of the case, the probable charges (counts), and the state or federal statutes that form these charges; NOW is the time to narrow the field of your optimum representation team. Please, do not rush into the legal team decisions. Once the lay of the land is better revealed, then the selection process can be whittled down to the two or three best possible options. DIY? Nope. Another recipe for disaster. While calling your golf buddy or sister’s husband’s nephew who practices law might be the path of least resistance, it’s also doomed for failure. Your failure. Your family’s failure.
• Solution? Find a can-do, will-do expert – a specialist who understands the global scene – who is experienced in searching for and securing your team; beginning with the chief lawyer who is tailor-designed for you. With the right choice up front, the rest will come in its natural order with you, the accused having a fighting chance for success.
• Cooperation and partnership. Smart, confident successful professionals love to share their work. Work with an attorney who is not afraid of taking guidance, direction, and suggestions from other professionals who are just trying to help the accused with achieving the best possible outcomes.
• Discovery and mitigation. Here is where the rubber meets the road. Once your chief lawyer and team get a look at what the government has in evidence, the process begins regarding disposition. How to best build the defense strategy begins in full force now.
• Negotiation. No matter the circumstances, or the case facts, it is almost always possible for your legal captain – well acquainted with and respected by the prosecutors, to reach terms, agreements, charging modifications, possible dismissals, plea, or trial options; the list goes on and on. Alleged victims, witnesses, advocates, and related parties will require kid gloves – highly skillful handling. More times than not, early forms of restorative justice (particularly finding and delivering ways for restitution, payback, pay forward, genuine sorrow/apology and forgiveness) can prove to be valuable in the grand scheme of negotiation and mitigation. A lawyer who is experienced and capable here can move mountains – again always trying to lessen the blows against the accused.
• Traditional methods. A fair question is this: “Does the accused really need an outside consulting firm like Q|Nav to locate, secure, and ally with the appointed lawyer…?” Absolutely not. There are other tried and true ways of finding the right people. Research is the key. Research into the most efficient and reliable search methods will give you a good head start. Try a Google search in your area for the specialty of lawyer you are needing. LinkedIn is also an excellent preliminary source. Martindale-Hubbell is a good catch all resource for narrowing the prospective field to the specialties you’re looking for. Referrals from friends and families are good if you follow up with your own investigations. Talking with a family lawyer can point you in the right direction as well. In all cases, once you make contact, please ask for actual client references – folks you can talk to about their experience with this particular lawyer. Be sure to ask about direct experience and success stories for your particular type of case, circumstances, and in which jurisdictions the lawyer practices. Find out if the lawyer is well known and respected in the circles (judicial jurisdiction) the accused will be prosecuted. Is the lawyer highly trained and experienced with your type of case? Is he or she well-read in the statutes and case law as well as constitutional law surrounding your type of case? Has the lawyer taken the time to really get to know you, your story, your facts and findings, your ideas, and your desired and expected outcomes? Are fees plainly presented and explained so all of your questions are answered?
• What about court-appointed lawyers? Public Defenders? First, does the accused qualify for an appointed attorney at the government’s expense? If so, it is utterly foolish to discard this option out of hand without careful digging. Many jurisdictions across the USA, both state and federal have very competent attorneys on staff who oftentimes know the local landscape far better than any other lawyer. Point? Do not dismiss the possibility of a court-appointed lawyer, be it private counsel or public defender, particularly if funds are unavailable or limited. As always, do your research. Competent, government-paid lawyers are usually happy to talk about their resumes and success stories; at least then the accused can do some more relevant comparison shopping.

Summary: A doctor, dentist, or vet referral from a friend is far more beneficial and safer than a criminal defense lawyer for an accused defendant. Unquestionably, the right legal team can prove to be the difference between success and failure, be it trial or plea.