Criminal defense attorneys often work long hours because they have many cases at one time, representing upwards of 50 or more clients in some instances. In each of those cases, the defense attorney will meet with his client - the defendant - several times to keep him or her up to date on what is happening with the defendant's case and to inform him of the decisions the defendant needs to make, such as whether to go to trial or to take a plea offer. In cases where the defendant is in jail, the defense attorney must make trips to the jail to visit his client.

Additionally, criminal defense attorneys must work with the prosecutor to get all of the State's evidence in the case so that he can review it and determine whether the prosecutor can reasonably convict his client or whether his client has a good defense to the crimes with which he has been charged. Often, this includes reading police reports, interviewing the State's witnesses and sometimes investigating the crime scene, if necessary. The defense attorney also negotiates with the State on his clients behalf to try to come to a plea agreement that is acceptable to both sides.

When a criminal defense attorney is not talking to his numerous clients or investigating their cases, he will typically be in court. There are several court appearances at which an attorney must appear on a weekly or even daily basis, either with or without his client, during the course of a criminal action. They include the preliminary hearing, the arraignment, the pre-trial conference, hearings on motions filed with the court, the settlement conference, the sentencing and, of course, the trial.

All in all, many full time criminal defense attorneys work 40 hours a week or more trying to represent their clients to the best of their ability.