Some of them are do-gooders.

But some bottom-feeder defense attorneys are scumbag predators in their own right...they reel in someone who is facing big prison time and feed them full of false hope. But the catch is they need to get paid up front, so they insist that the criminal sign over his house, car, bank account etc. Once he gets all the money he can, the attorney puts up a half-ass defense...he actually WANTS the defendant in jail, otherwise he might come after the lawyer when he finds out how badly he's been hosed.