A criminal defence lawyer: when you need one and how to choose one

When you need a criminal defence lawyer, fees under the d.m. 55/2014 parameters, what to do after a notice of investigation, and alternative procedures.

How much does a criminal defence lawyer cost?

The parameters are contained in the decree of the Minister of Justice of 10 March 2014, no. 55; table 15, concerning criminal matters, was replaced by ministerial decree of 13 August 2022, no. 147. The fee is broken down into four phases — study of the case, introductory phase, evidentiary or trial phase, decision phase — and varies according to the court before which the proceedings are conducted: justice of the peace, tribunal sitting as a single judge or as a panel, Court of Assizes, Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation. Article 12 of the decree permits, as a rule, a reduction of up to fifty per cent and an increase of up to eighty per cent of the average values. For the assistance of several persons in the same procedural position, the single fee is increased by thirty per cent for each person beyond the first, up to ten, and by ten per cent for each subsequent person, up to twenty.

To these amounts are added the flat-rate reimbursement of general expenses at fifteen per cent, the four per cent supplementary contribution to the Cassa Forense (the Italian lawyers’ social security fund) and value added tax. Article 13, paragraph 5, of law 31 December 2012, no. 247 requires the lawyer to communicate in writing the foreseeable extent of the cost of the service. The parameters operate on a supplementary basis and as a criterion for judicial assessment of fees; the written agreement with the client remains the primary source. Since paragraph 6 of the same article 13 provides for the periodic updating of the parameters by decree of the Minister of Justice on a proposal from the Consiglio nazionale forense (the Italian National Bar Council), reference must always be made to the tables in force at the time the engagement is conferred.

Legal references: d.m. 10 marzo 2014, n. 55 (tabella 15, come sostituita dal d.m. 13 agosto 2022, n. 147); art. 12 d.m. 55/2014; art. 13, commi 5 e 6, legge 31 dicembre 2012, n. 247.

I have received an informazione di garanzia: what should I do?

Article 369 of the code of criminal procedure, in the text resulting from the amendments introduced by law 9 August 2024, no. 114, provides that the Public Prosecutor, when required to carry out an act at which defence counsel is entitled to be present, must serve on the person under investigation and on the victim the informazione di garanzia, which contains a summary description of the alleged facts and an indication of the legal provisions said to have been breached, together with an invitation to exercise the right to appoint counsel of one’s own choosing. The act also records the right to the communication provided for by article 335, paragraph 3, and gives notice of the possibility of accessing restorative justice programmes; service may be effected by the judicial police only in urgent cases which do not allow recourse to the ordinary forms, in a manner protecting the recipient’s confidentiality, and the informazione di garanzia is covered by the publication ban laid down in article 114, paragraph 2.

Article 369-bis requires the simultaneous communication of the appointment of court-appointed counsel, with a warning of the obligation to remunerate that counsel and of the conditions for admission to State-funded legal aid. Once the act has been received, three courses of conduct are to be avoided: directly contacting persons with knowledge of the facts or potential witnesses; altering, supplementing or destroying documentation, even if considered irrelevant; making spontaneous statements or responding to informal requests before consulting counsel. The counsel appointed may exercise the powers under articles 391-bis et seq. concerning defence investigations, request access to the case file within the limits allowed by article 335 and consider the appropriateness of written submissions under article 121. The time limit for filing submissions and for requesting to be questioned is, where a notice of conclusion of the investigation has been served, that provided for by article 415-bis: twenty days.

Legal references: artt. 114, comma 2, 335, 369, 369-bis, 391-bis ss., 415-bis c.p.p.; legge 9 agosto 2024, n. 114.

Is court-appointed counsel or privately retained counsel the better choice?

Article 97 of the code of criminal procedure governs the designation of court-appointed counsel, carried out by the centralised office of the local Bar Council according to automatic rotation criteria among those enrolled in the national register of court-appointed counsel. Article 116 of decree of the President of the Republic 30 May 2002, no. 115 establishes that court-appointed counsel is entitled to a fee payable by the person assisted, and that only where that person is untraceable or proved insolvent is the fee advanced by the State, with subsequent recovery. Whether the defence is free of charge therefore depends not on the nature of the appointment but on admission to State-funded legal aid, governed by articles 74 et seq.

of the same consolidated text and subject to a limit of annual taxable income which article 77 requires to be updated periodically by decree of the Minister of Justice: the most recent adjustment is that made by decree of the Minister of Justice of 22 April 2025, published in Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 159 of 11 July 2025, to whose text reference must be made for the amount currently in force. Privately retained counsel is appointed under article 96 by a declaration made to the proceeding authority or delivered by counsel personally; the appointment may cover up to two counsel. The choice matters above all in terms of continuity of the defence: a court appointment may vary from one act to the next, whereas a retainer allows unitary management of the investigation, of any precautionary phase and of the trial.

Legal references: artt. 96, 97 c.p.p.; artt. 74-89 e 116 d.P.R. 30 maggio 2002, n. 115; d.m. 22 aprile 2025.

What are the alternative procedures and when should they be considered?

The giudizio abbreviato is governed by articles 438 et seq. of the code of criminal procedure: the accused requests that the case be decided on the state of the file, subject to a conditional request for supplementary evidence under article 438, paragraph 5. In the event of conviction, article 442, paragraph 2, provides for a one-third reduction of the sentence, which becomes one half for contravvenzioni (minor offences); paragraph 2-bis, introduced by legislative decree 10 October 2022, no. 150, provides for a further reduction of one sixth where no appeal is brought against the judgment. Article 438, paragraph 1-bis, excludes this procedure for offences punishable by life imprisonment.

The application of sentence on request of the parties is governed by articles 444 et seq.: the custodial sentence, reduced by up to one third, must not exceed five years, alone or combined with a fine; article 444, paragraph 3-bis, allows the request to be made conditional on exemption from ancillary penalties or on the non-application of discretionary confiscation. Article 445 governs the effects of the judgment, which has no binding force in civil, administrative or disciplinary proceedings and entails the extinction of the offence upon expiry of the prescribed periods. The assessment of expediency depends on the strength of the evidential picture, on the ancillary consequences and on the extra-criminal effects of the decision.

Legal references: artt. 438-443, 442, commi 2 e 2-bis, 444-448 c.p.p.; d.lgs. 10 ottobre 2022, n. 150

When is the company criminally liable, and not only the individual?

Legislative decree 8 June 2001, no. 231 introduces the administrative liability of entities arising from criminal offences, which is substantially punitive in nature. Article 5 sets out the objective criterion of attribution: the offence must be committed in the interest or to the advantage of the entity by persons holding functions of representation, administration or management, or by persons subject to their direction or supervision; the entity is not liable if those persons acted in their own exclusive interest or in that of third parties.

The subjective criterion is organisational fault: article 6 excludes liability for offences committed by senior officers if the entity proves that, before the offence was committed, it had adopted and effectively implemented organisation and management models capable of preventing offences of the kind that occurred, that it had entrusted the task of supervising the operation of and compliance with the models to a body endowed with autonomous powers of initiative and control, and that the offenders committed the offence by fraudulently circumventing the models. Article 7 governs offences committed by subordinates. The sanctions comprise the financial penalty calculated in units (articles 10 and 11), disqualification sanctions (article 9, paragraph 2), confiscation of the profit (article 19) and publication of the judgment.

Legal references: artt. 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 17, 19 d.lgs. 8 giugno 2001, n. 231.

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