Why You Shouldn't Fly Solo

Results Pay Off

You have a charge against you, most likely some fines on top of that, attorney fees probably aren’t looking too appealing at the moment. There can be temptation to represent yourself in court, but unless you have experience in law, there is a good chance that you will end up spending more in the long run. There are a number of perfectly good reasons as to why you should hire an attorney and not represent yourself, here are just a few:

Lawyers show no mercy. The attorney you are fighting against probably won’t give you any slack because you are representing yourself. This being said, an experienced attorney vs someone with little to no experience in law will be an easy win for them, painful loss for you.

You will make more mistakes than an attorney would. I’m by no means saying that attorneys are perfect, but remember, we do this for a living. The easy things you will slip up on, we have down to a science

You are much more likely to lose. As mentioned before, having a good attorney won’t guarantee you a win, but it will however guarantee you a better chance at winning. You might know all the facts of your case, but court is all about presentation, if you can’t present your facts well, you won’t have a strong case.

It’s not as fun as you may think. Lawyers are sometimes glorified. Our job isn’t easy, and it isn’t always interesting. There is a lot of waiting around. There are times when you don’t get to tell your whole side of the story and that can get to be really frustrating. All this stress can be put onto your lawyer, while you sit back and hope for the best.

You don’t know the judge (hopefully!). Knowing preferences of the judge can give you a huge advantage in court. You also don’t want to risk your case because the judge finds you annoying, because for the most part, people who represent themselves take up more time. An annoyed judge will not make a ruling in your favor.

If by this point you are still thinking of representing yourself, consider that paying the fees and charges associated with a loss can more often than not cost more than the attorney fees themselves. Keep this in mind if you are thinking of representing yourself. Saving a buck now doesn’t always mean coming out on top in the long run.