If you have a teen that was in a fight at school and the other student involved wants to press charges, it's time to hire a criminal attorney. You want to squash the problem as quickly as you can if possible, and you need legal representation to protect your child.

If your child is claiming that they were being instigated or bullied and that they were acting in self-defense, you need to make sure they don't go down with the blame for the fight. The lawyer is going to work for you in the following ways.  

 Negotiations

The lawyer can talk with the other student's lawyer and their parents to try to work out a deal, or to try to get the charged dropped so your child isn't branded with this charge for a lifetime. It can be easier for the other parents to deal with mediators instead of having to see you directly, and their lawyer can talk about the serious ramifications that can come from the charges or the potential that you could press charges as well.

Witnesses and Character Statements

The lawyer will need to talk with all witnesses that saw the disagreement or physical altercation start, and they need to be made aware of any video tapes that there could be of the fight. The lawyer will talk with the people to see if they can get a defense going right away, and they may want statements from teachers, coaches and friends that state your teen isn't a bad kid or an instigator. 

Avoiding Adult Charges

If your child is 17 years old the court may try to convict them and charge them as an adult, and you don't want them doing time in an adult correctional facility, or having this put on their permanent record. You need to get a lawyer to make sure that your teen is being tried correctly, and to help get them out of the charges.

If you aren't sure what happened and you haven't had time to talk with the other parents, but you have been told the police have been contacted, you need to get a lawyer (such as one from the Law Office of Michael Marinaro & Associates) before you reach out to anyone or do anything else. You want to make sure that you child doesn't talk with anyone about what happened until they have consulted with a lawyer and until they have a lawyer present with them for the interview.