Expect to pay between four and seven thousand dollars for a Michigan driver license restoration lawyer. However, the cost of your license restoration lawyer will depend on a variety of factors. First among them is likely to be their years of experience, with a close second being their location.
Lawyers with more years of experience tend to charge higher fees because they have more expertise and therefore a better track record than lawyers who have less experience. Also, lawyers in Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, and other remote areas tend to charge less. In part this is because they are not specialists. These lawyers often handle many different areas of law. But, as the saying goes, they are “masters of none.”
Biggest Mistakes Made By People Without License Restoration Lawyers
When people come to us after they’ve lost they are often shocked at the reasons given. When we look at their case we are almost never surprised. This is because the biggest mistake people who represent themselves make also the most common. They don’t understand the evidence needed and they don’t know how to properly and persuasively present that evidence.
Is a License Restoration Lawyer in Michigan Worth the Money?
If you lose your hearing, you can’t ask for another one for a minimum period of one year. Plus, it gets more difficult to win with each successive try. This is because your new case must be consistent with all prior cases. Each time you lose the hole you are in without a license gets much bigger.
If you do hire a license restoration lawyer at the Barone Defense Firm, we will offer suggestions for what you can do to ensure that all of the evidence requirements are met. We will review your letters of support to ensure that they follow your evidentiary standard. We will prepare your petition with an eye toward consistency and detail, and review also your substance abuse evaluation and drug screen. We have many qualified evaluators who know how to help and we will refer you to these evaluators if you wish.
We will also help to prepare your testimony. This will include guiding you through a “question and answer” practice dry run prior to the hearing. Giving testimony is difficult even for experienced witnesses. Plus, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will be able to ask you questions, we will know what to expect and help you prepare for these questions as well. Some of the Administrative Law Judges at the Secretary of State were recruited after leaving the Firm, and this shows how well we know this area of the law.
Because of our experience, we can often tell you about each ALJ that might hear your case and help you craft your evidence and hearing testimony to satisfy that individual. Preparation is key and the license restoration attorneys at the Firm will know exactly how to prepare for the Administrative Law Judge who will be deciding your fate.
While the cost of a great license restoration attorney may be higher, their knowledge and familiarity with the process will save you more in the long run. With all of our preparation and hard work, including preparing your testimony, we will increase the chances of success the first time, saving you repeat hearings in the future. This reason alone makes your legal fees money well spent.
When Should You Hire a Lawyer?
It is always the most efficient practice to retain the attorney as soon as you can. This way your lawyer can begin working on your case and getting you ready long before you are even eligible for a hearing. This will result in avoiding an unnecessary waste of time and money and in your getting your license as soon as possible. Keep in mind if your license was suspended you don’t need a lawyer. You only need to wait out the suspension then pay your reinstatement fee. This is the difference been a suspension or a revocation.