You don't need a layer "on call" to tell someone that you will have an attorney get in touch with then. You then go online and find yourself council. This was one of the points of the article.
Have you done this before and do you have a sense what's the cost? If it costs $5,000 to have an attorney involved while I'm pretty sure that I'm just a witness, it may not be worth it.
Initial consults before you are charged should be hourly rate. After you are charged many criminal defense attorneys require hefty upfront non-refundable payments. $25K for a non-violent felony charge would not be surprising if the attorney was good. Could easily be $100K if things are serious.
Lawyers are usually on an hourly rate. $200 - $500 an hour is what I've experienced, but I've never employed a criminal lawyer. Lawyers get expensive when they have to do trial because of the time the trial takes and all the discovery (research) that goes into it.
> and all the discovery (research) that goes into it.
Like researching how to try to convince their client to plea before the trial, even after they've collected their client's retainer that would cover the trial, and then get pissed at their client when the plea deal is refused for any reason (even a great one).
