is it helpful or necessary to have your lawyer present for an initial first hearing

By "initial first hearing" I am assuming that you mean First Appearance.  First Appearance is aptly named, as it is the first time you appear before a judge in the criminal case.  The purpose of First Appearance is to set and establish conditions for bond. This could be the most detrimental stage of your case as it can determine whether or not you can bond out on the current charges. Irrespective of the charge, you are entitled to have competent counsel represent you at every stage of your case.  With that being said, yes, it is helpful, and in my opinion necessary, to have your counsel represent you at first appearance.  Private counsel is more likely to know more about your case prior to first appearance.  They will know more about you and as such, they may be able to present more information to the court, which may assist you in getting a reasonable bond. While most public defenders are adequate lawyers, they will not have the time or resources to get to know your case before First Appearance. Public defenders that handle First Appearance are generally newer attorneys that have just a matter of minutes to review the paperwork prior to the case being called by the court.  When the case is called they may talk about your status briefly before explain the following canned dialogue to the judge: "judge this person has lived in town for x-years, they have these ties to the community, and they will show up for court. In this case a reasonable bond is $X." If you comfortable with that level of review of the case, then you may choose to have the PD for your first appearance.