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By: Uchenna Ani-okoye

Your Criminal Defence Careers

There are a number of rewarding and exciting positions in a criminal defence career that exists in both the private and public sector. The amount of employment options would widen in a legal organisation depending on its size, expertise and specialisation. A criminal lawyer may work in areas such as disorderly conduct, DUI, kidnapping, DWI, weapon offences, domestic violence, parole violations, felonies, murder, bail hearings, arrest warrants or summonses. In addition to that, a criminal lawyer requires a great deal of experience working on trials. The vast majority of criminal defence lawyers either work for the public offenders of prosecutions office.

The lawyer may specialise primarily in the defence of white collar crime. Many large firms out there will have a division for the defence of white collar crime. They may also opt to work as solo practitioners. A lawyer that works as a defender for white collar crime will provide legal representation to corporate clients who may be fighting against regulatory boards such as the corporate crime division of the American attorney’s office or the Securities and Exchange Commission. Besides issues related to crimes, they may also specialise in price-fixing, racketeering, embezzlement, bribery and fraud. Lawyers that work as defenders of white collar crime will charge significantly more than civil litigation lawyers.

Appellate law is another area that lawyers may specialise in. An appellate lawyer may work with government or private organisations. Most of their time is spend in presentation of oral arguments, appellate research and the preparation of briefs and records.