In this day and age, the term “white-collar crime” is used to describe certain nonviolent crimes that are undertaken in commercial settings for a financial gain. Examples of white collar crimes include:
- mail fraud
- bankruptcy fraud
- money laundering
- insider trading
- insurance fraud
- tax evasion
- securities fraud
If you’ve been charged or indicted for some type of white collar crime, you undoubtedly have some significant questions about how to navigate through this type of case. There are some factors who will want to bear in mind when it comes to navigating through your white collar case.
Whether to Take the Case to Trial
A key consideration facing a defendant in a white collar case is whether or not to take the case to trial. You need to bear in mind that less than 10 percent of all cases, on the state and federal level, ever end up going to trial. The vast majority of criminal cases, including white collar ones, are settled via plea negotiations in advance of trial. You also need to bear in mind that in a majority of cases that do go to trial, the defendant is found guilty of some, if not all, of the charges.
If you take your case to trial, you also face the prospect of a stiffer sentence if you are found guilty. The criminal justice system, on both the state and federal level, is designed in such a way to encourage people to plead. As a result, oftentimes when a criminal defendant enters into a plea agree, that individual receives a lesser sentence.
Selecting a White Collar Defense Attorney
When you begin the process to find a criminal defense attorney from a firm like Cohen Law Offices LLC in your white collar crime case, you must bear in mind that not any attorney will do. By that it is meant that you need not just a criminal defense lawyer, but you must retain an attorney with specific experience in defending clients charged with white collar crimes.
You need to take this consideration of an attorney’s background and experience one step further. If you’ve been indicted in federal court, you must have legal counsel that has represented individuals in federal criminal cases. Similarly, if you are charged in state court, you must have counsel with experience in that arena. Although some similarities do exist between the two court systems, the reality is that there are enough significant differences that you must have an attorney with hands-on experience within the court in which you are facing prosecution.