This is Incredible - Lawyer gets his DUI Client Incredible Results at a Bargain Rate - Then She Sues Him!

Gretchen Smith of Colorado is now known to the entire world as a lady with very questionable judgement. For starters, she got charged with DUI three times. You would hope that after the first two times she would have been more careful. But no.

She did make a smart move, however, when she hired Colorado Springs attorney Mark Rue. He did an excellent job, getting her a sentence on her third DUI which did not include any active jail time! In Virginia, the third DUI would be a felony and it would not be at all unusual for such a defendant to serve a year in prison. Incredibly, she the sued her attorney for fraud, claiming essentially that he had not put any time or effort into her defense.

Rue charged her less than $20,000 for representation on the three DUIs according to this story. That, my friends, is a bargain price. This fact was recently established as law by Fourth Judicial District Judge Theresa Cisneros, who ruled against her and dismissed her claim. A little lesson here for those deciding which attorney to hire for a DUI: you're most likely to be ripped off by a guy who is charging lower fees.

The fee scale for DUI ranges widely. I spoke to a colleague today who is representing a young lady on an double aggravated DUI in his capacity as public defender. He will be paid less than $200 for his services. How much time do you think he's going to put into a case that will result in a jail sentence? I got a guy a reckless driving plea on a charge like this once - but I put quite a bit of time into the case.

I know another guy who charges $36,000 for a DUI. I'm not kidding. He is one of the best in the nation, and people who can afford the best seek him out. I was amazed at the 2003 NACDL DUI Conference in Las Vegas when I first heard him speak. He told us that he charged $10,000 for a DUI then, which I found amazing.

A pretty good standard for DUI cases is $5,000 to $10,000 for an "A" player. If it is a felony or aggravated DUI, you should expect to pay closer to the high end of that scale or more. If someone quotes a fee of less than $5,000, I ask myself how much time and effort they can possibly put into that case. If they quote a fee of less than $2,500, I feel relatively certain that they are looking to spend a little time on a lot of clients rather than spending a lot of time on a few clients. If they quote a fee of $1,000 or less, I view them warily.

Shopping for a DUI defense lawyer based on price is only one step dumber than representing yourself. Beware the defender who quotes low fees. You get what you pay for, and with jail, license suspension, your driving record, and a lifetime with a criminal record at stake, why would you think twice about getting the best DUI defense lawyer you can find?