The devil is in the details in allegations of white collar crimes cases. If you are under investigation for financial fraud, including theft, embezzlement, healthcare fraud, tax fraud, corporate fraud, the experience of the attorney you choose to defend you can make all the difference in a future behind bars, a future with a clean criminal record or somewhere in between the two.
Most North Carolina criminal defense attorneys offer a free consultation to discuss what they can and cannot do for you. You should feel comfortable asking a white collar defense lawyer what his or her experience is defending cases like yours and whether he or she has experience prosecuting the same types of cases. Understanding both sides of a financial fraud case can be a benefit to your overall defense strategy.
In addition to experience, you should ask about the specific training the attorney has had related to white collar crimes defense. This area of the law is continuing to evolve with technology and you should know whether your defense lawyer is on top of investigation and trial techniques that could improve the likelihood that you will walk away from financial fraud allegations.
Most importantly, do not wait until you are arrested to talk to a defense attorney. If you know you are being investigated – you’ve received a subpoena for documents or the police or federal agents have come asking questions about your business and personal finances – you should have an attorney on your side, protecting your rights.