The First Hour
The hour that decides the case.
An interactive guide for the first hour after police make contact. Choose the situation you are in. Read the steps. Phone us. The decisions you make in the next sixty minutes shape the years that follow.
The hour is on the clock
Sixty minutes from now, the case is half decided.
Interactive guide
Choose what is happening right now.
This is general information for an Australian audience in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is not legal advice for your matter. It is a structured set of steps to help you avoid the most common mistakes before you can speak to a lawyer.
Keep this near you
Save it. Send it. Install it.
If you might need this later, or if you know someone who might, take ten seconds now. Send the page to your phone, save it as a bookmark, or pin it to your home screen.
Why this exists
Most of the damage happens before the lawyer arrives.
We have read hundreds of briefs. The pattern is constant. The strongest cases for the defence get weaker in the first hour, because the accused person speaks when they should be silent, consents to a search they could decline, or signs a document they should not have signed.
None of that needs to happen. The rules are simple. Stay silent. Ask for a lawyer. Refuse consent. Phone us. The guide above walks through the rules for whichever situation you are in.
If you have a friend or family member who is at risk of being in this position, send them this page. The link is aklawyer.com.au/first-hour. It costs nothing to read.
Save us to your phone
One tap. We are in your contacts.
Download the contact card. iPhone and Android will open it and offer to add it to your contacts under My Lawyer. From there, you can call us from your lock screen.
Contact card preview
My Lawyer · Aaron Kernaghan
Good Legal Lawyers · Criminal Defence
Phone · 0421 717 019
Email · aaron@aklawyer.com.au
On iPhone, tap the file once it downloads and choose Add to Contacts. On Android, the card opens directly in your Contacts app.
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