A criminal target—in this case, a sophisticated consumer of legal services—will typically want to retain a criminal lawyer whom he expects to be well-received by the prosecutor. Well-received, either because the chief prosecutor or her high ranking assistants know or at least know of the lawyer, and because he has a good reputation. Perhaps they're former colleagues. Or the defense lawyer is a former assistant to the chief prosecutor. It makes complete sense, right? That is, choose a lawyer whose call will be returned, whose meeting request will be honored and who generally has the respect of the office.

No one knows that strategy better than Donald Trump. He, for example, reportedly chose lawyers to represent him in the Special Counsel's investigation such as John Dowd—with a good, longstanding relationship with Bob Mueller. Let's face it, the lawyer who knows the prosecutor may get a more favorable audience even if, at day's end, the result is identical, and perhaps should be.