Need a Lawyer in LA/SFV area

[CroMagnum]

I need a good criminal lawyer, preferably in the SF Valley. Anybody have a recommendation? I have to find one this week.


Edited - B.J.F., you are correct. Thanks.

[HUTCH 7.62]

Always hard to get out of the system once in. Sorry to here about your luck OP

[BigFatGuy]

I'm thinking
Michel and Assoc (Long Beach)
Davis and Assoc (San Fran)

But that's because I've heard good things about them both in the 2A community.

[holt7153]

Michael Avenatti?

[S.A.]

You might be able to get some recommendations from the PD you had contact with.

[RoundEye]

Michael Avenatti?

[B.J.F.]

First op, edit your post, remove details.

Just ask for a good criminal lawyer.

You might try messaging Cal.Bar He is a lawyer in the O.C. Area.

Do not say anything further in the public forums.

[RickD427]

Retired LEO here. Spent more than 30 years taking cases to court.

Here's a very simple observation. Public Defenders tend to be much better lawyers than private defense attorneys at the lower price points. But as you've observed, they're really overworked and don't give their clients much personal attention.

Private defense attorneys will give you a lot more attention, and then bill you for it. A lot of them will also put on some level of courtroom theatrics in order to make you think you're getting your money's worth. Every veteran LEO has some version of the story where a DUI attorney questioned them like F. Lee Bailey on the stand, and then later approached them and said "sorry about all that, but look at it this way, I charged that guy $10K." (keep in mind that F. Lee Bailey is now disbarred and most of those clients still got convicted).

PD jobs are highly sought after by law school grads and, as a result, they get to be picky about who they hire. A new PD gets to "drink from the firehose" as they learn. Both factors make a seasoned PD quite good at what they do.

The quality of cases that I would take to court were determined by the facts. Where my case was less than pristine, but still worth trying, the PD's were much more capable of spotting and addressing the weaknesses than were the private attorneys.

I would recommend Michel and Davis as the most capable law firms for civil issues. I'm not so sure about their experience in criminal matters. But at the same time, I would not be so dismissive of the Public Defender.

[CandG]

Indeed, you should edit your post to remove the details. There are enough details in there that anyone else involved would be able to recognize the story.
Your lawyer will not be too pleased to see you posted details about the incident online.

May I suggest changing it to:

I need a recommendation for a defense lawyer in the SFV/LA area who is experienced in fighting battery charges.

[P5Ret]

OP first off sorry about the situation your in, and I have no recommendation's for good attorneys. I do agree with what Rick said above.

This should be a lesson for everyone, that any type of defensive action on our part should be immediately followed up with a 911 call. Words to the effect of "I just had to defend myself from an aggressive attacker" on a recorded phone line can go a long way when the attacker regains composure to call. Be the first to tell the story not the second one.

[cannon]

Former Court Clerk here.

Some PD's are fantastic and some are slugs. Good luck on the draw.

The best criminal lawyer I have ever seen and he is not a crook or money grubber is.

Christopher C. Cheney. He is on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.

I hired him for my son and believe me. When you are work at the Criminal Courts Building in downtown L.A. you see them all and have your pick.

Whatever you are facing. Best of luck.

[CroMagnum]

Thanks, you guys are right about the details. If I did post all the particulars I guarantee everyone here would be saying "Are you kidding?" In fact, that's what the cops said. But that's all I can say for now.

Anyway, I probably only have this week to decide if I'm staying with the PD or hiring an expensive lawyer. If you have a recommendation for someone locally, please post it. And don't forget contact information because there's lots of lawyers with similar names around here.

Thanks!

[OCEquestrian]

A spectacular attorney, friend and neighbor. This is the guy Cops and Judges hire when they need an attorney...He is not cheap but he is effective.

Paul Meyer

http://www.meyerlawoc.com/

[B.J.F.]

The best advise on an attourney is one your comfortable with and comes highly rated or recommended weather a PD or Privately hired Lawyer.

If you cannot talk to, get along with or feel like they don’t have your best interests in their heart, talk to another one.

You can always request a continuance to have more time to speak to lawyers to find the right one.

[cannon]

Don't hesitate to call a lawyer for a quick chat. During that chat you can decide if you like them or not.