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Free printable worksheet
The 25 questions to ask before you
trust an attorney with your life.
Most gun owners pick the first attorney who says the words "criminal defense." This is the worksheet you take into the room instead — 25 questions, room to write down every answer, and a scorecard for comparing the two or three attorneys you interview.
- Whether they've actually defended an armed citizen
- Whether you can reach them at 2am
- What a defensive shooting really costs
- Whether they know your state's law
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"Criminal defense attorney" is a category, not a qualification.
A firm can be excellent at DUIs, drug charges, and traffic offenses and have never once argued a self-defense case. Attorneys don't graduate law school with a specialty — they choose one after the bar exam, usually based on what interested them or where they interned.
So the attorney who answers the phone and says yes may be entirely capable and still be the wrong person to defend you. The difference matters enormously, and the night you need one is the worst possible time to work it out.
This worksheet exists so you can work it out now — calmly, in daylight, across a desk, before anything has happened.
What's in it
Four sections. Twenty-five questions.
One page per attorney.
Do they actually do this work?
Firearm caseload, jury trial experience, whether they've ever been a prosecutor, and whether they handle the civil suit that often follows.
6 questionsWill they be there when it happens?
Emergency lines, who actually answers at 2am, whether they respond before charges are filed, and what happens if they're in trial that week.
6 questionsWhat is this going to cost?
Retainer, hourly rates, what a defensive shooting really runs at the grand jury versus at trial, and what gets billed outside the fee.
6 questionsDo they know this state?
Years practicing locally, how they read your self-defense statute, their history with your county's DA, and where they stand personally.
7 questionsPlus the phone script for booking the meeting, where to find candidates worth interviewing, and a side-by-side scorecard for the end.
Built to be worked, not read
You fill it in while you're sitting there.
Every question has space to write the answer down and a box to mark whether you liked what you heard. You mark it in the room, not afterward, because afterward you will remember three attorneys as roughly the same person.
Print one set per attorney. Interview two or three. The last page lays them side by side so the choice makes itself.
Three of the twenty-five
The questions most people never think to ask.
"Have you ever been a prosecutor?"
Many attorneys build a career avoiding trial — excellent negotiators with limited time in front of a jury. An attorney who has spent years building the state's case knows exactly what's coming at you.
"If I'm detained at 2am on a Saturday, what number do I call — and who actually answers it?"
If you can't reach your attorney for twelve hours, the district attorney can accomplish a great deal in twelve hours. An answering service that takes a message is not the same as a person who reaches your lawyer.
"What gets billed outside your fee?"
Criminal defense attorneys don't work on contingency. Investigators, use-of-force experts, and filing costs are often separate from the hourly rate, and almost nobody asks until the invoice arrives.
The twenty-fifth question is the one that tells you the most. It's on the last page of Section D.
Included
The second conversation, too.
Once you've chosen your attorney, there's a different meeting to have — the one where you find out what your state, county, and city actually allow. Different meeting, different questions.
So we're including our Local Firearm Law Question List alongside the checklist. Vetting questions to pick the right attorney; local law questions for the meeting after you have.
Find your attorney before you need one.
It costs you an afternoon and a few phone calls. Almost nobody does it, and the ones who do are the ones holding a working phone number at the worst moment of their lives.
Free. Instant download. Read the full article on finding a gun attorney.