5 Criminal Defense Trends in 2021

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According to the research studies by IBIS World, the legal services industry of the USA was severely hurt as the pandemic hit. Not only due to the reduced crime rates but significantly due to the economic downturn. As the world elaborates and opens up to the new normal, the criminal lawyer and attorneys are also changing gears to get back in motion and on top of the newer circumstances being highlighted in the crime world.

Therefore, even though the industrial growth is attributable to the higher fee amounts being charged for availing legal services, the following are the five new trends that criminal lawyers and attorneys are keeping tabs at, influencing the legal services market performance.

Data Security

The digital age has its due advantages, but one can’t forgo the serious consequences of disregarding data security. Therefore, many law firms have jumped on the bandwagon to get along with the digital world’s current crimes and invest in data security technologies to ensure client safety. Following the sudden growth in cybercrime, law firms deal with criminal cases with confidential data like financial disclosures and property details at the risk of getting leaked. Hence, law firms introduce various technologies to practice client data security with two-factor authentication, risk assessment, breach response plan, encryption modes, etc.

Crypto Enforcement

State attorneys and government agencies alike are heavily focused on this new technological realm called cryptocurrency. From the CFTC, which is the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to the Department of Treasury and the IRS, crypto enforcement has been a very time-consuming and labor-intensive outrun for the legal services market. So much that many agencies and law firms have taken aggressive enforcement actions towards safeguarding crypto trading antics. Understandably, crypto is differentiated from other trading instruments as it is not regulated. So evidently, crypto traders are not too happy about such enforcement.

Corporate FCPA Settlements

An ongoing trend since 2019, FCPA or Foreign Corruption Practices Act hit an all-time high by grossing almost $2.7 billion in penalties due to legal enforcement. Ever since then, the regulated authorities working with regards to reducing FCPA settlements and demanding high amounts of penalties have played a big part in taking the legal services market back to the economic high even after the pandemic.

Healthcare Frauds

2020 was a year of many things coming to the forefront that were previously neglected the right legal services they should have attained. One such attribute was the healthcare industry. Ever since COVID19, many frauds like fake selling the personal protection equipment (PPE), fraudulent federal healthcare plans and payments, irregularities of local clinics and doctors, phony cures, and whatnot. The healthcare industry was already in shambles due to the pandemic, and the legal problems made it even worse. However, as the situation has started to settle down and people are getting a grip over everything, a renewed interest can be seen in the legal market in prosecuting individual fraudsters, whether entities or individuals, for healthcare fraud offenses.

Insider Trading

Undeniably, insider trading has been a priority, especially for the SEC, and, likely, it will well continue being the same as the year progresses. Although SEC has been at the forefront of battling insider trading charges and offenses, the DOJ or Department of Justice, as well as the upcoming authorities that were granted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, have also become a major player for the government to ward off insider trading offenses.

Alternate Legal Service Scams

Throughout changes seen last year, one thing that was diligently exposed was that many people have been seeking legal services from illegal and non-lawyer professionals just to save some bucks and documentation charges. Such professionals in the likes of legal document makers, self-help websites, paralegal tech experts, and virtual assistants were highlighted for the most scams and illegal provision of services. Hence, the legal services market is not on top of this matter because of the criminal aspect of things but to save their own industry and make legal service costs more approachable and cost-friendly.

Bottom Line

There is no denying that the legal service market will grow once the world completely reopens and functions as normal. However, evidently, there have been many serious changes in the world crimes and encroachments following the pandemic that require appropriate addressing from the industry.

Looking for a criminal defense attorney that is aligned with the updated criminal defense trends of 2021? Mark Nicewicz, Attorney at Law, an attorney located in Fairfax County, will do his best to formulate the right defense to the charge and provide you with honest legal representation. Contact our firm for further details or to schedule a complimentary case evaluation today.