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How to Bring in Reckless Driving Cases as a Virginia Attorney
One of the best ways to get reckless driving cases as a Virginia attorney is to market for them using direct mail for attorneys. A lot of the time, defendants in reckless driving cases are just regular people who were going a little fast. They have a stable job and are responsible members of the community who just made a mistake or were not concentrating while driving. Because of this, using direct mail for attorneys is a great way to reach some of these defendants because many of them have not been in trouble before and so may not know a lawyer. Also, some of them may have just been driving through your county, and may not know an attorney in that county. Sending them a letter to their home address is thus a great way of reaching them. If you send one hundred mail pieces advertising your legal services to reckless driving defendants and even one of them hires you, you will have made a sizable profit. If you figure a price of $1.30 per mail piece (which is Direct Legal Mail’s price per mail piece) and you multiply that by 100 mail pieces, that works out to $130. If you get hired on even one reckless driving case, the amount of money you will make will vastly exceed $130. And if you get hired on 2-5 out of 100 reckless driving cases, then you will have a sizable revenue stream coming in from reckless driving cases. The economics of direct mail for attorneys works because reckless driving defendants often are regular people who have stable jobs and are willing to pay for help with their reckless driving cases.
How to Handle a Reckless Driving Case as a Virginia Attorney
A Virginia Attorney that handles traffic cases will no doubt come across hundreds to thousands of clients during their career with reckless driving charges. As a Class 1 Misdemeanor, many such clients are good people with no criminal record and are scared to death about the repercussions of a conviction. If a potential client calls your office here is a good approach to handling such a case:
The Initial Call
First and foremost, get the speed or other driving behavior they are alleged to have committed. In most reckless driving cases, the officer or trooper will charge them based on speed. In Virginia, it is reckless driving to go 20 mph or more above the speed limit or drive in excess of 80 mph. Many times, you can calm a client down by letting them know that their speed is not so excessive. Rather, at a speed of 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, it is a relatively uncomplicated case where getting the speed reduced by plea agreement with the prosecutor will avoid a misdemeanor conviction and result in a simple traffic ticket. By quelling the potential client’s fears 
you put them at ease and make them comfortable with you and with the case. When the potential client is comfortable with you and their case, they will likely want you to be their attorney and to become your client.
In other instances where the speed is much higher, or it is a reckless driving charge for passing a stopped school bus, or they were racing, more discussion will be needed. What is their driving record? Was anything unusual going on in their life that precipitated the excessive speed such as rushing to the hospital or to the bathroom? When they allegedly passed the stopped school bus were children crossing the street or simply loading onto the bus from the nearest shoulder? Advise them that taking a driver improvement course will help. This will require the client to become invested in their case and feel like you are helping them by advising them of the proper course of action. Additionally, in high-speed cases, having their speedometer calibrated may help get the speed reduced as is permitted by statute.
In higher speeds, such as 100 mph or more, the client should be advised that they do face jail time and loss of privilege to drive in most jurisdictions in Virginia. Of course, it is appropriate to discuss with them the realistic amount of jail time they face. Many attorneys advise their clients that they face up to 12 months in jail (since it is a Class 1 Misdemeanor) and a six-month loss of privilege to drive but do not give the potential client a good estimate as to the actual jail time or license loss they are facing. It is not advisable to leave your potential client in the dark. Impart your knowledge to them and show them you know what you are doing and that you have done this before. Help them understand their charge, the likely penalties, and your perseverance to help them get through this court process. Remember, this may be their first time in Court.
Know The County Where They Are Charged with Reckless Driving
In more rural counties where the speed limit is higher and there is less traffic there can be more flexibility in reckless driving cases. For example, in Stafford County, it is not uncommon to have speeds in the 90s reduced to simple traffic offenses or even dismissed. Know whether the county has a traffic school for dismissal program. 
This will help you advise your client whether it is better to have them take a driver improvement program prior to court or wait until it is court-ordered and do it later. In other counties where no such programs exist, such as Fairfax County, it is advisable to take a driver improvement course prior to court. Due to the large dockets in that jurisdiction, it is not possible for the Court to hold return dates for those ordered to traffic school and the potential client should know that going into the representation. Additionally, in some of the smaller jurisdictions, prosecutors do not get involved in reckless driving cases (unless the speeds are aggravated – such as over 100 mph). As a result, the attorney should advise the client to retrieve their driving record, driver improvement course certificate, and any other mitigating evidence they wish for presentation to the Judge.
Should you go to Trial in a Reckless Driving Case?
In some cases, you may come across an occasion where a trial is warranted. Perhaps the officer or trooper does not have their calibrations to show their equipment was working correctly on the date they allege your client was speeding. In other instances, the calibration sheet may be recently notarized but, upon a closer examination, it may not have been actually calibrated within the past six months as required by statute. In these instances, most prosecutors will agree to either reduce the charge significantly or dismiss the case altogether. In the cases in which there is no prosecutor, the Judge should be made aware of these issues. While the officer or trooper may try to then testify to a “visual speed estimate,” many courts will give that observation much less weight than properly calibrated Lidar, Radar, or speedometer equipment and you should point out they shouldn’t consider it at all. Why use such equipment at all if officers or troopers are allowed to testify to a visual speed estimate?
In other cases where the speed is excessive and the prosecutor has agreed to take jail time off the table by plea agreement, it may be worthwhile to avoid a trial. Some Judges are known to incarcerate people for high speeds and this should be discussed at length with the client. While it will be a misdemeanor conviction, at least the client will avoid jail.
Does Your Client Need to Appear for Court?
Depending on the jurisdiction your client may not need to appear for court for a routine reckless driving case. You should advise them that they need to appear in a reckless driving case with aggravating circumstances such as an injury in an accident case or if the allegation is a very high rate of speed. Also, if you anticipate a trial, the client should be present. This sends a signal to the Judge that your client cares about their case and took the time out of their day to be present.
If, however, the speed is not so excessive and the client has advised that he or she wishes for a simple reduction of the charge but does not want to miss work, know your jurisdiction. Many counties simply require a power of attorney from the client that the attorney is allowed to enter a plea on behalf of the client. Know what reduction your client will accept and you can do them a huge service by handling their case in their absence. Instead of court, they can go to work or handle family obligations while their hand-picked attorney takes care of their legal trouble.