text: lawyer from legal aid or duty lawyer from local court? if i pledge guilty, do i still need a lawyer? duty lawyer from local court is free right? if you can't afford a lawyer, you are entitled to have one without charage. s/he may be an alcholic or incompetent, but s/he will almost certainly do a better job than you will.  among other things, s/he will never let you plead guilty without bargaining to reduce the offense to something with a lesser penalty or lower fine. you really can't do that by yourself.