Answer: Success is not for me to define. Success can only be defined by the client. And using that criteria, I would say that we obtain a favorable outcome in close to 100% of our cases. When we first begin with a client, we discuss with them what their main goal is, meaning, how they will measure success. One client I'm currently representing who is a resident at a very prestigious hospital had defined success in his case as any result that will allow him to continue working as a medical doctor. Since he was charge with four felonies, that meant that he wanted us to attempt to have all the charges either dismissed or reduced to misdemeanors. We were able to accomplish this and therefore, obtained a favorable result for this client.
In another case, our client who has a prior drunk driving offense less than seven years old has defined success as anything, or any result, that will allow him to avoid the one-year minimum license revocation that comes with a repeat offense. Because the prosecutor would not offer a non-alcohol reduction, we set the case for trial. On the day of trial, the prosecutor decided to dismiss the charges. If the case gets refilled, which it might, we will be able to appeal that determination and keep the case bound up in the appeals courts long enough to avoid the seven-year look-back period. If we're able to do that, for this case we've obtained success.
That's what I mean by the success can only be defined by the client, and our job is to find a way to reach their goals.