You have probably seen the commercials hundreds of times. They are on all the time in South Florida. Some clown, dog, monkey or even actors playing police officers tell you that if you get a traffic ticket, you should call this or that Florida traffic ticket attorney. I have even seen some use cartoons. These commercials are all over the place. While there are many good Florida traffic ticket attorneys that you can hire, do not be swayed by a television commercial. If you need the services of a traffic ticket attorney, then you need to be asking questions, talking to friends and not listening to kids sing catchy jingles.

I have represented thousands of people who have received traffic tickets in South Florida. You might think that makes me completely self-interested. However, the truth is that whether you hire me or one of my competitors, I will be OK. I have plenty of clients that I can help. All that I want to do today is to let you know some of the questions that you should ask an attorney, ANY ATTORNEY, before you hire that attorney to help you with your traffic ticket. Here they are:

Can You Help Me With Any Other Legal Problems?

There are some attorneys who take traffic tickets as just a small part of their overall practice. They might really be family law attorneys or estate planning attorneys. They take traffic ticket cases as a way to make a quick buck. You do not want to hire them. To effectively deal with traffic tickets you want attorney who just does traffic tickets. You want the right person who’s focus is traffic tickets. If you need surgery, you would go to a surgeon not a general practitioner. It is the same way with the law and traffic tickets. If an attorney offers to handle your traffic ticket, but also does real estate closings or wills, you need to keep looking.

If You Do Not Win, What Traffic School Should I Go To?

This question is something of a trap. There are some Florida traffic ticket lawyers who own their own driving schools. This is a conflict of interest. If they can not get their clients’ tickets taken care of, they send their clients to traffic school. That means that the attorney gets paid for the ticket and for traffic school. What do you think the attorney’s incentives are? That the attorney can get paid more by losing the traffic ticket case should tell you all that you need to know. Ask them, “do you own (or does your wife own) a driving school?” If they answer yes, run the other way.

How Long Have You Been Doing This?

You do not want to hire an attorney who just started doing traffic tickets. There is no reason that you should pay for a new attorney to learn on the job. There are many experienced Florida traffic ticket lawyers for you to hire. New attorneys can learn the ropes by working under those with experience instead of learning at the expense of clients. There are a few attorneys in south Florida who have been only handling speeding traffic tickets for a decade or more. Call one of them.

How Much Do You Charge?

Many people think this is the most important question, but it should be the last one that you ask. Most traffic attorneys charge roughly the same price because the price is determined by the free market. In South Florida, the average price is around $69. If you find an attorney who charges far less than that, you are dealing with someone who is inexperienced. Or they will give your traffic ticket a reduced amount of attention. If you find someone who charges far more than that, you are getting ripped off.