Many Virginia lawyers will be upset with me for revealing this to you, but you deserve to know the truth.  In Virginia, any lawyer can advertise and hold himself / herself out to the public as a Criminal Defense Attorney as long as the lawyer can handle a criminal case with a minimal degree of competence.  In Virginia, no level of experience or expertise is required.  There is no test a lawyer must pass or certification processes a lawyer must complete before the lawyer can claim to practice in a particular area of law.  To put it in perspective, essentially all that is required is for the lawyer to be able to provide D+ representation - because that's all it takes to pass. 

To illustrate this point further, consider the following:  even though I have never handled a medical malpractice case, I could advertise and market myself as a medical malpractice lawyer - as long as I learned enough about it to be barely competent to handle the case.  Of course, not being an expert in that field, one would expect the representation to fall well short of being top-notch and it is highly unlikely that the case would end up with the best possible result for the client.  But as long as I can be minimally competent at medical malpractice, I am able to claim to be a medical malpractice lawyer.  


So don't be fooled.  The fact that a lawyer advertises and claims to be a Virginia DUI / DWI or Criminal Defense Lawyer does not mean the lawyer has any education, training or expertise in that area of law.  Being a "jack of all trades and master of none" lawyer, who dabbles in several areas of the law and excels in none of them, is allowed in Virginia - and is quite common.  Since you probably don't want to end up with that kind of lawyer, it is up to you to do your homework so you can separate those lawyers who have some expertise in DUI / DWI & Criminal Defense from those who dabble in several areas of law.  After all, it's your life, your freedom and your future that is on the line, and you need a "master" lawyer instead of the "jack of all trades and master of none" lawyer.

If you have been charged with a DUI / DWI, Criminal or Traffic offense in Virginia and the outcome of the case is important to you, The Wilson Law Firm may be just the firm you need.  The Wilson Law Firm is focused on helping clients accused of DUI / DWI, Criminal and Traffic offenses all across Virginia.  The Wilson Law Firm has successfully handled thousands of DUI / DWI, Criminal and Traffic cases all across Virginia - and we would love to help you, too.  Call us now at 703-361-6100 or 540-347-4944.