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May 18, 2008
Legal Department
Wanted: Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer
No, I'm not in trouble. But I could be someday, and it would be nice to know who to call.
Because I spend so much time on legal blogs, I know a few good lawyers, just not around here.
(Actually, I don't know that they're good---how could I really tell?---but they sound good, which is better than some. More importantly, they seem to respect each other's skills, and they'd be better judges of legal skill than I am.)
So, if I'm ever arrested in New York City, my first call is Scott Greenfield. If I'm arested in Austin, Texas, I'm calling Jamie Spencer, but in Houston I'm calling Mark Bennett. In Connecticut, I'm calling Norm Pattis (Sorry Gideon, I don't think they'd let me pick my own PD), and in the D.C. area, I'm calling Jon Katz. (Whether they'll take my call is a different matter...)
But if I ever get arrested in Chicago, I haven't got a clue who to call. For a traffic ticket, I could just pick at random, but for something a little more serious, I might want to make an effort to choose wisely.
How come there aren't any good criminal blawgers in Chicago? A search of blogs on Technorati for "Chicago criminal defense attorney" yields two hits. The first is Anthony W. Hill, whose most recent entry on May 14 reads, in it's entirety,
[Update: The guy who's setting it up emailed me to say that regular blogging will start soon.]
The other blog has apparently shut down.
Using a more general search on Technorati for "Chicago criminal defense lawyer" in any post, I get as the eighth result something titled "Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer" which clicks through eSyndiCat to the law offices of Denise M. Nalley:
One of Chicago's most respected and experienced criminal defense attorneys, Denise M. Nalley, has earned a reputation for providing high quality and aggressive legal representation in Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs. A former Cook County Prosecutor, who understands both sides of the law well, Denise is committed to providing her clients with an aggressive and effective criminal defense. Denise understands that it is of the utmost importance to vigorously protect her clients' Constitutional rights.
No blog there.
More generally, if I do the search on Google, I just get hits for law firms, such as Michael J. Petro:
One of Chicago's most respected criminal defense attorneys, Michael J. Petro, has earned a reputation for providing high quality, aggressive legal representation in Chicago and around the United States. Criminal defense attorney, Michael J. Petro, earned this reputation by providing his clients with the highest standards of diligence, knowledge and professional advice, and by steadfastly protecting his client's constitutional rights.
No blog there either, but it reminds me of something I've read recently...
Next in the Google list is Norris and Callahan, whose motto is apparently "We Win Cases Other Criminal Defense Lawyers Said Were Impossible":
One of our clients came to our firm after two other attorneys told him that his case could not be won. When he contacted our law firm, he had already pleaded guilty the charge and was about to serve a 12-year prison sentence with the Illinois Department of Corrections. We took on his case, vacated (withdrew) his guilty plea, and won a not-guilty verdict at trial.
Wow, I think I gotta get these guys! They win cases.
Still no blog, though. Don't any Chicago defense lawyers write a blog?
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Mark:
Thanks for the nice comment.
Norm
That's okay. I'd pick Norm over me too.
I'm not surprised at your results. I have heard more than one lawyer complain that we are a little behind on internet technology compared to lawyers in other cities.
Also, if a criminal defense lawyer did start a blog, it would take them a really long time to reach the first page in Google because of all the older established websites and directories. So I doubt we'll be seeing any criminal defense lawyer blogs anytime soon.
I just started blogging on divorce law about 4 months ago and my blog rankes #100+ for "Chicago Divorce Lawyer." My blog is pretty good (I think) and I blog almost daily. Still, it will probably take a few years for anybody to access my blog through Google. The same will probably be true of a lawyer who starts criminal defense blog.
In the end, though, it is not so bad. The best way to find a good lawyer is still through a referral from a qualified source (such as a former client or another lawyer). Blogs and websites can only tell you so much about a person and their work.
Hey, thanks for the comment.
I'm not really looking for a local defense lawyer because I might need one. I'd just like to read some commentary about local conditions and issues. And I'm wondering why one of the largest court systems in the world doesn't have any crimlaw blogs.
As for your blog, uh, I don't even want to go there because I wouldn't want my wife to see it on the screen. Best of luck, though.
I figured as much (about your current need for a defense lawyer) but I didn't want to give up my chance to jump in and say what I've been quietly (and gracefully) fuming over for the last couple of months.
About my divorce blog, I had to laugh. That's pretty much everyone's reaction!
Love your blog and keep up the good work!
I have a Chicago criminal defense blog that I haven't updated in awhile, although I'm about to get back into it. It's at http://chicagocrimelaw.wordpress.com/. I work on 26th St., not downtown, and my view of the criminal defense system is from that of a lawyer still getting their feet wet. But I'm enthusiastic, I used to write extensively throughout college on political commentary and I'm in the courts every day. If you want to know more, contact me at chicagocrimelaw@gmail.com.
The Chicago Criminal Law alert by Michael J. Petro is real good. Every week he summarizes a criminal defense decision by the 7th Circuit Court of appeals. Here is the address. http://mjpetro.typepad.com/7th_circuit_alert/
Also, Michael J. Petro's web site has been active since 1994. This has led a number of competitor's copying the site word for word around the country. In one instance, a lawyer from Florida didn't even take the time to remove Michael J. Petro's name from his new site.
Also, those creeps from FindLaw and Martindale shamelessly have copied Michael J. Petro's site as well. This attorney Denise whoever is just the latest to steal the copy.
Anyway, check out the blog. real good.