At Golden Law, we get it — hiring a civilian attorney is costly. We never take that for granted. We appreciate that you have the right to free military counsel, and we know the investment you must make to hire a civilian attorney. But here’s some straight talk about the cost of hiring a civilian attorney.
Your Life is on the Line
The bottom line is this – no matter the reason you are visiting a civilian attorney’s website (such as ours) or calling their offices, the stakes for you are high. Whether you’re facing a written reprimand for some alleged misconduct, or nonjudical punishment for something more serious, or, in the worst-case scenario, a court-martial for allegations as scary as “sexual assault,” your life is on the line. You stand to lose your reputation, your career, your freedom, and even your future. You have everything to lose.
None of this is meant to scare you, but it is meant to put things in proper perspective. As you read this post, ask yourself this question – what price would you put on your reputation? What price would you put on your career? On your freedom? On your future? Hiring a civilian attorney is no guarantee that everything will be fine, but with all that’s on the line, you should compare the cost of that attorney to the cost of losing the things you have worked so hard to achieve.
Here’s a real-life example. Let’s say you’re a young Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, or Guardian. You signed up to serve your country, and you are now entitled to the GI Bill. But you’ve gotten into some trouble, and you’re hearing that your command may discharge you. They are telling you that you’ll get an “Under Honorable Conditions (General)” discharge. You’ll be fine, your friends say. But the truth is that, unless you have an “Honorable,” you will lose that GI Bill.
In 2021, the Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay up to $25,162.14 per year of your education. Above that, they’ll pay you a monthly housing allowance that is equivalent to BAH for an E-5 with dependents. Let’s round down and say that’s $1,000 per month. That means the GI Bill is a $37,000 per year benefit! And with a General discharge, you lose it all! In that context, you should really consider whether that civilian attorney is worth it.
And that’s just your educational benefits. Imagine losing your disability payments. Or worse, imagine going to jail, receiving a dishonorable discharge, or being registered as a sex offender. Those costs are extraordinarily high.
“Free Lawyers” are Rarely “Free”
With all this in mind, it’s important for you to know a few things. First, the team at Golden Law never takes for granted the amount of money you invest in our services. We know the cost, and we appreciate the trust you put in us. We have worked long and hard to make sure we are prepared to give you the best defense.
But know that your “free lawyer” is rarely “free.” The feedback that we get all the time is that the “free lawyer” you are assigned never has time for you. You call, and they don’t answer. You email, and they don’t respond. You go to their office, and they’re not there. From what our clients tell us, that happens all the time.
By paying for civilian counsel, you are securing a lawyer and counselor. At Golden Law, we are committed to being available to our clients. We often tell our clients, “unless we’re in trial or on vacation, our goal is to answer your call or email within a day or two.” That’s obviously just a goal, and sometimes things get busy. But being “free” for our clients is important, because we know what you invest in our services.
Beyond that, your free lawyer’s services are rarely free. We see this all the time when military members who have been convicted and are in jail call us to help with their appeal. Those calls almost always start with our clients telling us all about how their “free lawyer” was rarely available before trial, knew very little about their case during trial, and made critical mistakes in trial. Certainly, there are great military lawyers out there. But we hear these stories all the time. And, unfortunately, there is often very little we can do to appeal errors made by your free lawyer during trial.
Paying now for a civilian attorney gives you the peace of mind to know that your lawyer is available to you, that he or she is working hard on your case, and that you are in the best position to defend yourself and protect your future.
There Are Resources Available
Hiring an experienced, capable, and available attorney is never cheap. The team at Golden Law has decades of education and experience. Having that resource available to you costs money.
But fortunately, there are resources available to you. We talk to clients all the time about how to make the ends meet. Where there’s a will, there’s a way – and we’ve been through this enough to know how to help. Give us a call to discuss more.
Look, we get it. We appreciate the cost of our services. But with that cost comes a great deal of experience, dedication, and hard work. We take great pride when our clients invest in us, and that investment pays off with a great result, a criminal case avoided, or a trial victory!
