The L.A. Times reported on the employment challenges faced by people coming out of prison. “As difficult as the recession has been on people, it’s twice as difficult for people with a felony to make it in this economy.”

The information is sobering.  As prisons are forced to reduce their inmate populations because of overcrowding and budget shortages, some economists fear that could lead many of them back to a life of crime.  Also, experts say two trends have dimmed employment prospects even more.

One is a severe contraction in industries such as manufacturing and construction that have traditionally been more open to hiring people with checkered pasts. The other is a rise in the number of former inmates looking for work, as state prisons and county jails try to reduce their inmate populations to save money.

My opinion?  Clients hire me for many reasons: to defend their rights, fight unwarranted criminal charges, and/or reach resolutions which dismiss/reduce criminal charges, and save their career from present or future calamities caused by the criminal charges levelled against them.  Criminal history, and especially FELONY history, is extremely harmful to my clients’ present and future job prospects.

Keep this in mind when seeking private counsel.  Do you trust them to humanize you?  Will they save your job/career?  Discuss the different strategies your potential attorney will implement in working your case.  In today’s tough job market, your livelihood depends on it.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.