For most people in Lichfield the first and only contact with a criminal solicitor is a motoring matter: a speeding notice from the A38 or the A5, a drink-drive arrest after an evening in the city, or a totting-up disqualification that would cost a Birmingham commuter their job. Criminal law solicitors in Lichfield handle more of this than anything else, and an exceptional hardship argument, properly prepared, is often the difference between keeping and losing a licence.
More serious matters follow the usual route. Anyone arrested by Staffordshire Police, or asked to attend a voluntary interview, can have a solicitor at the police station for free whatever they earn, and having one in the interview changes what happens afterwards. Summary cases are heard at the magistrates' court that serves the district; those too serious for magistrates are sent to Stafford Crown Court, or occasionally to Birmingham, where Lichfield firms instruct barristers or appear through their own advocates. Service personnel at Whittington Barracks may instead face the service justice system, and need a solicitor who understands both.
Lichfield's caseload is lighter and more suburban than the county's cities: driving offences, public order after the pubs on Bird Street, domestic abuse allegations, drug possession, shoplifting, fraud and the occasional firearms certificate case from the villages. Regulatory and environmental prosecutions against businesses are a small but growing part of the work.
Legal aid applies in the magistrates' court after a means test and in the Crown Court with possible contributions, and the duty solicitor scheme covers the police station around the clock. Motoring work is nearly always fixed-fee; anything larger should come with a written estimate per stage.
Defence firms covering Lichfield appear below, verified ones first. What criminal law involves walks through a case from arrest to sentence, can I get legal help for free covers legal aid, and the general criminal law solicitors page describes the service; larger firms in the city are on the criminal law solicitors in Birmingham page.
