Criminal Defense Attorneys
212,605 verified criminal defense attorneys across the United States. A criminal defense attorney protects your rights from arrest through trial. Find experienced lawyers handling DUI, drug, federal, theft, and violent-crime charges.
Tucker L. Watson is an experienced trial lawyer focusing exclusively on representing clients in Northampton and Accomack Counties on Virginia's Easter...
Sergio Cabanas is a dedicated divorce lawyer and family law advocate with a deeply personal mission: to protect families from the very system that onc...
Thomas "T.L." Kearney, IV combines courtroom experience with client-focused advocacy. He earned his B.S. degrees in Business and Psychology, graduatin...
Zac was born in Salisbury, North Carolina and graduated from West Rowan High School where he was a two sport athlete in football and track and field. ...
My law practice is devoted to defending drivers with traffic tickets and companies with trucking summonses. In my 25 + years in practice, I have succe...
Attorneys Paul G. Tuths and Susan Quinn Tuths employ their pragmatic attitude, exceptional legal skills and more than 50 years of combined experience ...
Philip L. Arnel practices at Law Office of Philip L.
Joseph P. Villanueva is a lawyer practicing traffic violations, speeding tickets, moving violations and 5 other areas of law.
Scott L. Anderson graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1982.
Michael M. Raheb has years of experience as a litigator and a track record of successful verdicts and case results.
Douglas MacMillan Borthwick is a lawyer practicing civil litigation, business litigation, personal injury and 7 other areas of law. Douglas received a...
Adjunct Professor, Criminal Law, Edison Community College, Fort Myers, Florida, 1998—. Hearing Officer, Charlotte County School Board, 2000—.
Mr. Douglas L.
The founder of the Law Offices of John Schmidt & Associates PLLC, John has a personal devotion to help struggling families. The happiness and welfare ...
Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan has spent his entire career SOLELY focused on DUI Defense. Mr.
Mr. George Leroy Powell is a lawyer practicing criminal law, dui/dwi, sex crimes and 109 other areas of law.
Mallory vigorously defends her clients in criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to felony sex assaults and homicides, and Title IX cases at univers...
David B. Law received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and J.D., with honors, from the Drake University Law School.
Timi Tucker has an outstanding track record with over 27 years experience, and is primarily focused on representing clients in Divorce, Dependency, In...
Mr. Evan Kyle Guthrie is a lawyer practicing marriage & prenuptials, trusts, power of attorney and 20 other areas of law.
Jonathan Franklin combines decades of courtroom experience with deep community and civic engagement. After earning his undergraduate degree at the Uni...
Julio Cesar Torrente, Esq. - Torrente Defense, P.A. There is no doubt that Attorney Julio Cesar Torrente is passionate about justice.
Mr. Daniel J Conidi is a lawyer practicing immigration, federal criminal defense.
Kiarash Feyzjou is a lawyer practicing all types of accidents, arson, assault and battery and 21 other areas of law. Kiarash received a B.A. degree fr...
Kirsten E. Bennett is a lawyer practicing criminal law, dui/dwi, personal injury and 19 other areas of law.
Focusing his practice largely on complex civil litigation, R. Greg Andrews is the managing member at Andrews Law.
National College for DUI Defense,Certificate (2010). National College of DUI Defense Summer Session taught at Harvard Law School (2010).
Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., Circuit Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit, 2001-2002.
Legal matters can be emotionally difficult unless one has an aggressive, intelligent, and vigilant lawyer who understands the legal system and who can...
Michael Mehrdad Garagozlo is a lawyer practicing personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice and 6 other areas of law. Michael received a...
Education: Texas Wesleyan School of Law 2010- Dean's List- Vice Magister, Phi Delta Phi, 2008-2009- Academic Support Teaching Assistant, 2008-2009- Mo...
Kate Mesic practices at The Law Offices of Kate Mesic, PA Read Full Bio
Mr. Scott Andrew Ferris is a lawyer practicing personal injury, criminal law, family and divorce and 3 other areas of law.
Mr. James Ralph Aulbaugh III is a lawyer practicing business litigation, commercial litigation, divorce and 10 other areas of law.
Mr. Vyzas received his start as a legal aide in the New York State Department of Law, Real Estate Financing Bureau, where he reviewed cooperative, con...
Mr. Robert D.
Based in New Brunswick and serving the Central Jersey area, Attorney Morrell provides each of his clients with knowledgeable and experienced represent...
Stuart P Slotnick is a lawyer practicing litigation, business litigation and trial, white-collar defense and investigations and 4 other areas of law. ...
James Earl Hensley, Jr. is a lawyer practicing personal injury, federal and state criminal and civil law, capital murder and 9 other areas of law. Jam...
Louis A. Russo is the founding member of Russo Law LLC, a New York and New Jersey business law firm focused on commercial contracts, business acquisit...
Jessenia Rosales is a lawyer practicing family law, alimony, annulment and 113 other areas of law. Jessenia received a B.A. degree from University of ...
Mike began practicing law in 2002 in Fort Wayne and the surrounding counties. Mike has focused his scope of legal practice to all issues involving fam...
Joshua Floyd has practiced with The Jimenez Law Firm since September 2012.Josh brings great energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to all his cases. He ha...
Attorney Jennifer Gilliland Vanasdale has earned the distinguished AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. This high achievement is earned by a se...
Gary Green practices at Sidkoff, Pincus & Green, P.C. Read Full Bio
Mark Daniel Laderman is a lawyer practicing labor and employment, age discrimination in employment, employment breach of contract and 24 other areas o...
Ronald Daniel Hedding practices at Hedding Law Firm Read Full Bio
Mr. Robert Steele Cummings is a lawyer practicing child custody, divorce & separation, speeding & traffic ticket and 1 other area of law.
Brian Corrigan graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1999, and began his career as a trial prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorney...
Mr. Christopher C.
Atty. Jerome W Perry is a lawyer practicing personal injury, products liability, wrongful death and 30 other areas of law.
Michael P. Murray is a lawyer practicing criminal law, assault and battery, bribery and 64 other areas of law.
After serving as a federal prosecutor in both: The United States Air Force, Judge Advocate General Corps for over 4 years; and as a Special Assistant ...
I was born in Busan, a large port city in South Korea, in a working class neighborhood. Busan was one of only two cities in Korea not captured by the ...
Brian Andrew Kirlew is a lawyer practicing criminal defense, white collar crime, family law and 16 other areas of law. Brian received a B.S. degree fr...
Attorney David J. Dischley is the Managing Partner of Dischley Law, PLLC and a criminal defense trial attorney with nearly 20 years of experience repr...
Jeremy Alan Bartley, 43, was born and raised in the heart of coal country in a small town called Virgie in Pike County. Bartley graduated Salutatorian...
Glenn Smith Valdez is an expert New Mexico Traffic ticket attorney. He has dedicated a part of his practice to representation of drivers accused of a ...
Ara C. Khorozian is a lawyer practicing real estate contracts, real estate acquisitions, real estate investments and 18 other areas of law.
David L. Lash practices at David L.
What is Criminal Law?
Criminal Law is the branch of law that governs the rights, obligations, and disputes that arise within its subject matter. In the United States, criminal law sits at the intersection of statutes enacted by Congress, the regulations issued by federal agencies, the laws passed by all fifty state legislatures, and the body of judge-made decisions known as the common law. Because every state writes its own version of the rules, the way criminal law works in one jurisdiction can look noticeably different from how it works in another, and that is one of the main reasons attorneys in this area focus their practice geographically — to stay fluent in the local statutes, court rules, and judicial preferences that shape outcomes.
At a practical level, Criminal Law attorneys spend their time on three categories of work. The first is advice and prevention: counselling clients on how to structure transactions, draft documents, and conduct business so that legal risk is minimised before a dispute ever begins. The second is transactional execution: producing the contracts, filings, notices, and registrations that the law actually requires to make a decision legally binding. The third is contested representation: defending or pursuing a client's interests when a dispute escalates to negotiation, regulatory enforcement, arbitration, or litigation in court.
The clients who hire Criminal Law lawyers range from individuals navigating a single life event to multinational corporations with complex regulatory exposure. What unifies them is the need for an experienced lawyer who knows the relevant code sections, has appeared in the relevant courts, and can translate the strategic options into language a client can act on. AttorneyQnA currently lists 212,605 verified criminal law attorneys across the United States, each with a public profile showing their bar admissions, years in practice, and the kinds of matters they have handled — with the deepest concentration of practitioners in Texas.
When do you need a Criminal Law attorney?
Most people contact a criminal law lawyer for one of two reasons: something is about to happen that they want done correctly the first time, or something has gone wrong and they need it fixed before it gets worse. The earlier you involve counsel, the more options you usually have, and the lower the cost of getting to a resolution tends to be. The scenarios below are the ones we see most often on AttorneyQnA from prospective clients searching for criminal law representation.
Once your signature is on a contract, settlement, lease, or release, your bargaining leverage drops sharply. A short pre-signature review by a criminal law lawyer is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Cease-and-desist letters, regulatory notices, and demand letters all start clocks. Missing the response window can convert a manageable problem into a default judgment or formal enforcement action.
Statutes of limitations, filing windows, and appeal periods are jurisdictional — courts cannot extend them as a favour. If you can identify a date that matters, you need a lawyer before that date arrives.
The moment opposing counsel appears, the conversation moves out of normal English and into procedural language. Continuing unrepresented usually means losing ground you cannot recover later.
Forming an entity, choosing a venue, structuring a deal, or selecting a remedy each has long-term consequences. A consultation at the planning stage is far cheaper than redoing it after the fact.
Multi-state matters bring conflict-of-laws questions that change which statutes apply and which court has authority. An attorney licensed in the right jurisdiction is not optional.
If any of the situations above describes where you are right now, the next step is a focused consultation. Use the Ask a Lawyer tool for short written questions, or browse the 212,605 criminal law attorneys listed above to book a paid consultation directly.
How to choose a Criminal Law attorney
The single biggest factor in choosing a criminal law lawyer is fit with your specific matter. A lawyer with twenty years of criminal law experience but no exposure to your particular sub-issue can easily be a worse choice than a five-year associate who has handled the same problem repeatedly. We recommend running every prospective lawyer through the same five-step checklist before signing an engagement letter.
- Bar admission in the correct jurisdiction. Confirm the lawyer is admitted in the state — and where relevant, the federal district — where your matter sits. The lawyer's profile on AttorneyQnA shows every bar admission on file, and the underlying state bar's "lawyer lookup" tool will confirm active standing in under a minute.
- Direct experience with your fact pattern. Ask plainly: "How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and how did they resolve?" An honest answer reveals more than years-in-practice alone.
- A written fee agreement. Whether hourly, flat fee, contingent, or hybrid, the engagement letter should specify what is included, what triggers additional charges, and how disputes are handled. Avoid lawyers who resist writing the terms down.
- Communication cadence. Decide upfront how often you expect updates, who your day-to-day contact will be, and what response time is reasonable. The number-one complaint filed with state bar grievance committees is not malpractice — it is non-communication.
- Conflict check + reputation pulse. Make sure the lawyer has run a formal conflict check, then spend ten minutes reading independent reviews and any public disciplinary history. The state bar's website is authoritative for the second; the lawyer's AttorneyQnA profile collects the first.
Once you have a shortlist, schedule consultations with two or three. Lawyers vary widely in temperament, and the right strategic match for your case is sometimes the second or third lawyer you meet — not the first.
How much does a Criminal Law lawyer cost?
Legal fees in the United States are not regulated by a uniform schedule, so what you pay a criminal law lawyer depends on the billing model the lawyer offers, the complexity of your matter, and the local market. There are four billing structures used in this practice area; most engagements use one, but hybrid arrangements are increasingly common.
1. Hourly billing
The default model for most non-contingent matters. Rates for criminal law attorneys in the U.S. typically range from $150–$250/hour in smaller markets to $400–$700/hour in major metropolitan areas, with senior partners at large firms commanding $900/hour and above. Hourly billing is fairest when the scope of work is genuinely unpredictable, but it creates an incentive structure that the client has to monitor.
2. Flat fee
Increasingly used for well-defined transactions — incorporations, will drafting, single-issue filings, uncontested matters. A flat fee tells you exactly what the deliverable will cost, and the lawyer absorbs the risk of unexpected complexity. Ask whether the flat fee includes filing fees, third-party costs, and any post-filing follow-up.
3. Contingency
Where it is permitted by the rules of professional conduct — most often in plaintiff-side criminal law work involving monetary recovery — the lawyer is paid a percentage of the proceeds, typically 33% before suit is filed and 40% after. The client pays nothing if there is no recovery. Contingency fees align the lawyer's economics with yours, but the percentage compounds across time, so very strong cases sometimes do better on hourly billing.
4. Retainer / subscription
A monthly fee that buys a defined block of access or hours. This is common for businesses with ongoing criminal law needs — contract review, employee questions, regulatory check-ins. A subscription smooths out spending and gives the lawyer a reason to know your operation in depth.
Whichever model you choose, ask for an itemised written estimate before the engagement begins, and ask explicitly what is not covered. Surprise expenses are the most common source of attorney-client friction.
Frequently asked questions about criminal law
How quickly can a criminal law lawyer review my matter?
Most lawyers can schedule an initial consultation within 1–3 business days. Urgent matters — pending deadlines, time-sensitive notices, court-ordered hearings — should be flagged in your first message; many lawyers reserve emergency consultation slots for that reason. If you need a written answer faster, the Ask a Lawyer tool typically returns answers in under 24 hours.
Do I need a criminal law lawyer in my exact city, or anywhere in my state?
Bar admission is the controlling rule: any attorney licensed in your state can represent you in that state's courts and agencies, regardless of which city they're based in. Practical proximity still matters for in-person meetings, local court familiarity, and access to the local bench and bar. For state-level filings and remote-friendly matters, an attorney elsewhere in the same state often works fine.
Will an initial consultation cost me anything?
Many criminal law attorneys offer a free 15- to 30-minute initial consultation; others charge a flat consultation fee that may be credited against the engagement if you hire them. The lawyer's profile lists the consultation policy. Free does not always mean better — a fee-based consultation is sometimes the sign of a lawyer who treats their time, and yours, seriously.
What documents should I bring to the first meeting?
Bring every contract, notice, letter, filing, or written communication connected to the matter; a written timeline of events with dates; the names and contact details of every other party involved; and any deadlines or hearing dates you are already aware of. Even an incomplete file is more useful than a verbal summary alone.
Can I change lawyers if I am not happy with mine?
Yes. Clients can discharge their lawyer at any time, for any reason, by written notice. Your case file belongs to you and must be transferred to your new counsel. Any unpaid fees through the date of discharge remain owed; any unearned advance must be refunded. If you are mid-litigation, the court typically must approve the substitution, but approval is routine.
How long does a typical criminal law matter take?
It depends almost entirely on whether the matter is transactional or contested. A transactional matter — a contract, a filing, a single-step transaction — can resolve in days to weeks. A contested matter — anything involving disputed facts, court intervention, or regulatory action — typically takes months at minimum, and complex cases can run multiple years. Your lawyer should give you a realistic outside estimate at intake.
Are criminal law lawyer fees tax-deductible?
It depends on the nature of the matter and current tax law. Fees connected to producing or collecting taxable income, managing investment property, or operating a business are often deductible; fees for personal matters generally are not. Because rules change, confirm deductibility with a tax professional for the year in which the fees are paid.
What is the difference between criminal law and the related practice areas?
Criminal Law overlaps with several adjacent areas — see the related-practice-area grid below for direct links. Choosing the right lawyer often means picking the one whose primary focus matches the heart of your problem, even if multiple labels could technically apply. When you are unsure, list your situation in your own words to two lawyers from neighbouring areas and ask which one of them is the better fit; honest lawyers will tell you.
Find criminal law attorneys by state
Each state link below opens the criminal law roster for that jurisdiction, with the local statute of limitations, court-system overview, and verified attorneys.
Criminal Law Law Firms
Main Law Firm
Winter Park
Walton Law Firm
San Marcos
Bruner Law Firm
Fort Walton Beach
J&Y Law Firm
Los Angeles
West Law Firm
Charleston
John T. Floyd Law Firm
Houston
Criminal Law by State
All states →Find criminal law attorneys in every US state. Each state link opens a hub with verified attorneys, the state filing deadline, and a free attorney match.