A conviction for a felony in the last ten years is admissible into evidence. Likewise, a conviction for a misdemeanor in the last five years is admissible into evidence. Such evidence can often damage the credibility of your client. Therefore, you must know what you are in for, and be prepared to deal with it up front. You can be assured that if you don't find this information out, the attorney for the defendant often will.
Many clients are self-employed.
Whenever a defense attorney subpoenas records it is critical that you obtain a copy of the records, and actually read the records. While this may seem like basic common sense, often attorneys assume that the records are irrelevant, or do not read them closely only to discover that the records contain damaging information. It is important to consider obtaining copies of any and all records regarding all schools that the client has attended. Also, if there had been a prior diagnosis of a condition such as Attention Deficit Disorder, this might severely impact on the ability and the manner in which your case is presented. Certainly, if a client has a history of difficulties in school, personality disorders, difficulty learning new information, etc., this is highly relevant to how the head injury case is presented.