The Criminal Defense Attorneys: an independent guide to recommended criminal defense lawyers across the United States.

Criminal defense is a branch of law that focuses on defending those who have been accused of committing a crime. The goal of a criminal defense attorney is to protect the rights of their clients and to ensure that they receive a fair trial. Criminal defense lawyers encompass a wide range of legal issues, including investigations, arrest, pretrial proceedings, plea bargaining, trials, appeals, and post-conviction proceedings. It also involves a variety of different types of crimes, including felonies, misdemeanors, and federal offenses.

Each year one leading defense lawyer per state is invited to appear in the directory. The in-depth nomination, research and selection process is completely independent. Every March, more than 80,000 nomination forms are distributed to criminal defense attorneys across the USA. An initial shortlist for each state is formed based on the results of the peer nominations and our own independent research. The team then assess the shortlisted lawyers based on 8 key performance indicators, before a final selection is made for each state.

To assist potential clients, we provide a detailed profile of each lawyer in the guide, highlighting their expertise and experience, an overview of their firm, its defense practice and full contact information.