How to Find a Good DUI Lawyer

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or anything that impairs your ability to drive on the road is a serious offense. And that’s how it should be treated, given how devastating the consequences of such reckless actions can be.

Every year, the US makes around one million arrests for DUI. Just a couple of years ago, in 2024, 12,429 people lost their lives in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths. DUI doesn’t just put the driver at risk; it also puts their passengers and others on the road in harm’s way.

Now, DUI cases can be very complicated, especially when you get the court involved. Should you find yourself involved in a case of this sort, what do you do? Simple: You hire the best DUI lawyer you can find and have them sort things out for you. 

In this article, we’ll tell you how you can find yourself a good DUI lawyer to handle your case. 

Google Them

These days, most of us turn to Google the moment we need anything – from a new recipe to fixing a leaky faucet. So it makes sense that your first instinct might be to type “DUI lawyer near me” into the search bar. 

This is a solid place to start, and usually, the top results should give you a good match for your DUI case. Law firm marketing has come a long way, and law firms do their best to make themselves visible on the internet.

One such marketing strategy for law firms involves ranking their client firms on top of Google search results. Take the case of Timofey Pavlov, whose law firm took the help of one such law firm marketing agency. Pavlov, whose law firm worked with Dominate Marketing, saw a growth in their organic search. This means that the firm managed to consistently list on top of search results. 

Only the best law firms manage to rank so high when working with marketing agencies. After all, it’s not just the ads or marketing that gets them there; it’s their work too. 

Once you find your picks, go through them and see what each firm says about how they handle DUI cases. Look for attorneys who specifically list DUI defense as one of their core practice areas. A good DUI lawyer is someone who knows the laws around driving under the influence inside and out.

Don’t Underestimate Reviews

Once you’ve looked through a few websites, head over to the review sections. Google Reviews can be useful, but take everything with a grain of salt. You’ll probably find a mix of glowing praise, middle-of-the-road ratings, and some not-so-happy comments. That’s normal. What you want to look for are consistent patterns.

Are clients saying the lawyer actually listened to them? Did they feel like their case was a priority or just another number? Were there complaints about the lawyer being impossible to reach or not returning calls? 

One or two bad reviews shouldn’t send you running. However, if you see the same red flags over and over, that’s a sign to keep looking.

Just a heads-up – some reviews are vague or suspiciously generic. “Great lawyer, highly recommended!” doesn’t tell you much. But when someone takes the time to write what happened in their case and how it was handled, that’s where you get real insights.

Ask Real Questions Including Uncomfortable Ones

When you do talk to a lawyer directly, don’t hold back. You’re hiring them, after all. 

Ask how many DUI cases they handle in a typical year. Find out if they usually go to trial or work out plea deals. Ask what kinds of outcomes they’ve been able to get for clients with cases like yours. 

And yes, ask how much they charge and what that includes. No one wants to be blindsided by a giant legal bill halfway through the process.

Don’t be shy about asking if they’ve ever handled a case that involved the specific details of your situation. A lawyer who’s confident and experienced won’t hesitate to talk through how they’ve navigated similar cases in the past.

No one plans for a DUI. But once it happens, the next steps matter a lot. Finding a good DUI lawyer is less about finding a fancy office or someone who has handled celebrity cases. It’s more about finding someone who treats you like a real person and not just another file on the desk.

So take your time, ask the right questions, and trust what your gut is telling you. A solid lawyer can’t make the charge magically disappear. But they can absolutely make the process more manageable, protect your rights, and help you work toward the best possible outcome.