We're like divorce lawyers, see

Interesting advice and discussion on Yahoo Groups' Criminallaw:

Public Defenders get very bad reviews from clients and most of it is undeserved. They are, in a sense, like divorce lawyers - even after the lawyer has done a good job, the client still feels unsatisfied.

In my experience, public defenders have at least two advantages over private counsel, one is that they generally know the judges in their jurisdiction and can sort of predict what any particular judge will do, and they also work day in and day out with the district attorneys so they can often "shmooze" a good deal out of one, particularly when their client is apparently guilty of at least some of the charges against him.

People rarely value services that are given for free or cheap, and if they have some funds they'll plunk down a big retainer to a "street lawyer" who will then often call someone in the public defender's office to get advice on which judge is best and how to deal with a particular DA.

Well, there you are. And yes, I have had the experience of having a client's family hire a "real lawyer," only to have that real lawyer call me up later for free advice. If you've been a p.d. for a while, you have, too.

But I'm cool with that, honest! If they can afford a private lawyer, they don't need me. Some times it helps the client and the case to have a paid lawyer come in, and I try to remember to think kind thoughts when their private lawyer gets the same deal that I had worked out.

Most of the time things do work out, and client and family are only out the money for the retainer. What sucks is to sit in court and watch one of my ex-clients get a worse outcome with the new lawyer. I get no satisfaction out of seeing them fall.