First element you need to look for to decide if a solicitor is good or not is by their honestly. Good lawyers do not hesitate to tell you the harsh reality even if that leads to losing you as their client.
Second element you need is experience. Nothing beats experience! In court room, it is all about experience, a barrister with 2 year experience is may not be better than a solicitor with 20 year experience.
An experienced lawyer can save you lot of money too. Lawyers charges by hours they spend on your case. A new lawyer will need hours of research where a experienced lawyer might need almost no research for the same case, because they already know.
You need to find a criminal defence expert lawyer, usually you would want to keep your case in magistrate court if possible, the higher the court you have to attend, the more money you have to pay. In saying thing, in some cases going to district court might be better than dealing that case in magistrate court. So, get a lawyer who can keep your case in right court.
A good criminal lawyer will let you know what is the best option for you including the cheapest option.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
