Should You Maintain Regular Contact With Your Attorney?

Contact is absolutely necessary. In this day and age, most people have cell phones and the ability to text. I give clients my personal cell phone number so they would have a direct way to call, text, or email me. It is really unnecessary for someone to drop off the face of the world and for me to not be able to contact them by way of phone or text or email, and it can also be problematic.

There are a lot of attorneys who just withdraw the case if they are not able to get in touch with their clients. The attorney is there to help the client and the client has paid for the attorney to help them, so it would not make sense for the client to not want to face reality and stop returning texts or phone calls. It would just end up hurting them.

A warrant might be issued for the person’s arrest but because they had not gotten in touch with their attorney or the attorney had withdrawn, the person would really never know about that warrant and they would have to constantly live under a cloud of fear that any day they could be snatched off the streets due to an arrest warrant.

Should Someone Seek A Loan Or Borrow Money To Hire A Lawyer?

Lawyers are expensive because they have a lot of education, they have gone through a lot of schooling and they have a lot of experience. Not everyone has thousands of dollars in their bank accounts, which is why they will often have the ability to get a public defender. I would advise someone to have a public defender represent them, rather than to try and represent themselves. I would definitely recommend someone to get a private attorney if they can afford one.

There are different options available to help someone pay for an attorney. I recently spoke to a company that offers legal loans. People dig into their 401Ks or their savings, ask their family or friends for loans, or they might sell their car, but there are other options available. I not only offer a very reasonable rate but also offer payment plans.

A person can only afford what they can afford, so if they do not have the ability to come up with $10,000, then they should not try to hire the $10,000 lawyer. Different attorneys charge different rates, with some going as low as $1,500 for a misdemeanor DUI, up to about $15,000.

Some attorneys charge a lot of money because they figure that the potential client will think they must be good because they charge that much. Some attorneys charge a lot of money because they actually are very good at what they do and they know exactly what needs to be done in order to get the best possible outcome. There are also attorneys like me who offer bifurcated representation, which ensures that the client pays only for the services they are getting, so options are available.

People need to not only try and find the right lawyer but they need to try to find the right lawyer for their situation, so often times it becomes a financial issue. They should not go into bankruptcy by simply trying to fight a DUI.

If they have no other options and do not have the money, then they should go with the public defender, which is why that system is in place. People should know that the public defender normally does cost people money, but it would usually be a few hundred dollars as opposed to a few thousand dollars for a private defense lawyer.

Should Someone Refrain From Answering Questions By A Police Officer?

Certain obligations apply to someone driving in the state of Arizona, namely providing proof of identification, but after that, the person has a constitutional right to remain silent. There would be no problem with someone saying they invoked their right to remain silent and they would like to speak to an attorney.

They would technically not be entitled to have access to counsel until after they were arrested, but that should not stop someone from requesting to speak to an attorney prior to being arrested. Simply asking for an attorney or invoking the right to remain silent is not something that the officer or the prosecutor could use against the person in the court. The more someone talks, the more problems there could be. Good cases have turned bad because people have been overly cooperative and answered the officer’s questions.

The best thing to do would be to keep quiet and be friendly to the officer. If the officer asked the person to get out of the vehicle, then they would need to get out of the vehicle. If the officer asked for identification then the person should provide identification.

If the officer started asking questions about how much the person had to drink, or how they would rate themselves when they were driving on the scale of 0 to 10, 0 being completely sober 10 being falling down drunk, or if they asked what types of illegal drugs the person had been using or what type of alcohol they had been consuming, then these would all be questions the officer would ask to elicit statements that could be used against the person later and which would hurt the case. The best thing to do would be to be quiet and not be your own worst enemy.

For more information on Dealing with an Attorney for a DUI, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling 480-900-0384 today.

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Brian Douglas Sloan

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Why Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan?
Phoenix DUI Lawyer

Why Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan?

18+

18+ Years SOLELY Focused on DUI Defense

4,100+

4,100+ DUIs Successfully Defended

Top Accolades

  • Only DUI "Power Lawyer" in the Nation Featured in USA Today, 2022

  • Top 10 in Arizona

Top 1%

Top One Percent in the Nation

Superb 10/10

AVVO.com

Preeminent
4.9 / 5.0

Martindale-hubble

“I am one of only a handful of Phoenix DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.”

I have spent my entire career focused on DUI Defense representation, having personally defended more than 4,100+ DUI clients in the past 18+ years.

If you’re looking for a divorce attorney, tax attorney, or civil attorney, then I can comfortably say: "I’m not the one for you".

Coming up with traditional, as well as outside-the-box motions and defenses for my clients, often with good results, is the hallmark of my practice.

Lawyers that say they are "aggressive", or "will fight for you", are a dime a dozen. They use these phrases because that is what they think people want to hear. The truth of the matter is, being "aggressive" rarely gets the client anywhere in these court systems. Being "aggressive" isn’t the same as being good, and is often used to put on a show for a client to hide the fact that they aren’t doing anything meaningful for the client.

The same is true for the lawyers that claim to do DUI Defense... and Criminal Cases..., and Accident cases..., and Divorces. A Jack-of-all-Trades is a master of none. By handling all different sorts of cases, they take away from their ability to truly focus on DUIs, and keep up to date on the latest changes in DUI Defense Representation.

What I offer is intelligent, quality DUI Defense, at an exceptional price.

I am one of only a handful of Arizona DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.

I have not only taught other lawyers how to do DUI Defense Representation at statewide seminars, but I produce DUI Legal Guides used by defense lawyers across Arizona.

I am one of the most award-winning DUI Defense Lawyers in Arizona; have been recognized nationally, including in a 2022 issue of USA Today; and there are only a few lawyers in Arizona who have personally defended more DUI cases than I have. I am also one of the most reasonably-priced DUI Lawyers, as I pride myself on charging a Flat Rate only for the legal services you need, and not for the legal services you don’t.

I am also the lawyer who people call once they realize that their original lawyer screwed something up, gave them false hope or false promises, or simply just took their money and didn’t do much on the case. You would be surprised at how often this happens.

Save yourself the trouble of hiring the wrong lawyer, and hire the right DUI Defense Lawyer from the start.

You can reach me on my personal cell phone: 480-720-7839.

Let me know if you have any questions!


Brian Douglas Sloan

DUI Attorney

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Consultation

Email address:
Sloan@ArizDUI.com
2 N. Central Ave Suite 1929
Phoenix, AZ 85004