Achieving a favorable outcome in a criminal case is only half the battle; getting through the ordeal without your life falling apart along the way is equally important.
If you're facing life in prison, it may be a good idea to forget about everything else in your life and focus solely on fighting the charges against you. In most cases, however, ignoring your other responsibilities will only make things worse.
You may feel like no matter what you do, your career, your reputation, your social life, or maybe even your family life is going to be ruined. As I said earlier, being charged with a crime can ruin your life, but it doesn't have to. Instead of focusing on worst case scenarios, focus on getting through this with your career, your reputation, your relationships, and every other important area of your life intact.
While balancing these interests, make sure you always appear in court on time. Obviously you should avoid picking up any new cases, but this is harder than it sometimes appears. Hanging out with the wrong people can get you accused whether or not you've done anything wrong.