Best Phoenix Criminal Defense Attorneys

More than 1,400 cases won across the Valley put Alcock and Associates among the busiest Phoenix criminal defense attorneys. The firm brings over 150 years of combined experience to felony charges, DUI, and criminal traffic matters.

Several of its lawyers are former Maricopa County deputy county attorneys and deputy attorneys general. That background shapes how they read the state's evidence. The team has handled more than 10,000 major felonies in roughly two decades.

Alcock also takes personal injury, immigration, and family law files. Clients can reach their attorney directly at any hour. The practice is AV-rated and gives a free first meeting, with payment plans for criminal and DUI work.

Since 2013, CIMA Law Group has represented thousands of clients across Arizona from its downtown Phoenix office. The practice works in three areas: immigration, criminal defense, and personal injury.

Attorney Ayensa Millan leads a bilingual staff serving English and Spanish speakers. Much of the criminal work involves non-citizens, where a charge can put status at risk. The group also runs a government relations team, which is unusual for a firm this size.

Cases range from misdemeanors to serious felonies, plus motorcycle crash and dog bite claims. More than 2,300 matters have gone through the office. People looking for a criminal defense attorney in Phoenix can check whether they qualify for a free consultation.

Few Arizona practices concentrate this heavily on sex crime defense. VS Criminal Defense Attorneys, based in Mesa with a Phoenix office, builds its work around sexual assault, molestation, exploitation, and pre-charge investigations.

Lead attorney Michelle Villanueva Skura is recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 criminal defense attorney. Published results include a 17-count molestation case cut from a 140-year offer, and a sexual assault charge dismissed in full.

The team hires forensic and metadata experts to test digital evidence before trial. Staff speak Spanish, book appointments day or night, and offer flexible payment terms.

Richard Gaxiola has spent more than 20 years trying serious felony charges in Arizona courtrooms, from homicide and drive-by shooting counts to drug trafficking. His work on Hells Angels prosecutions drew coverage from the Phoenix New Times and The New York Times.

Now operating as Gaxiola and Litwak Law Group, the practice defends assault, kidnapping, sex crimes, white-collar charges, and misdemeanors statewide. Its attorneys appear in courts from Maricopa County to Yuma and Coconino.

Gaxiola holds an Avvo rating of 10 and lifetime membership in a national top-100 trial lawyer group. The downtown office fields calls at any time.

Reaching every county in Arizona, Lerner and Rowe Law Group splits its staff into three teams: criminal defense, DUI defense, and bankruptcy.

Board-certified specialist Bruce Blumberg and managing attorney Sean Forrester head the defense side. Felony and misdemeanor charges, extreme DUI, marijuana expungement, and gun rights restoration all fall in scope. Payment plans are available.

Criminal defense is the only practice area at Belen Law Firm. Maria "Belen" Olmedo Guerra has handled hundreds of felony matters, including homicide, child abuse, and sex offense cases. She is known for her plea negotiation record.

Four attorneys work the docket, one of them an appeals lawyer. The Phoenix firm also speaks openly to LGBTQIA+ clients who want counsel that understands their position in court. Case evaluations cost nothing and the phone is answered day or night.

Ybarra Maldonado Law Group describes itself as a socially conscious firm, and the caseload matches. It covers immigration, criminal defense, and civil rights work for migrant and Spanish-speaking communities in Phoenix and Miami.

Its attorneys defend state and federal charges, often where a conviction would trigger deportation. The group also brings car wreck and wrongful death claims for families. The Phoenix office recently moved to a new midtown location.

Chris Doran runs a practice with criminal defense at its center, joined by family law, post-conviction relief, and injury claims. He takes matters across Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties, from Phoenix down to Casa Grande and Tucson.

Several independent sources have listed him among the better defense and family lawyers in the area. Clients deal with the attorney himself rather than an intake desk.

More than 300 trials sit behind James Palestini, who spent seven years at Kimerer and Derrick, the boutique firm tied to the Miranda ruling. He now runs his own central Phoenix office.

DUI, felony, and misdemeanor charges make up most of the docket, along with victims' rights representation. Palestini has taken the Rising Star Award seven years running. Callers speak with him directly, not an assistant.

Orent Law Offices is a Phoenix criminal defense law firm founded by attorney Craig Orent. He has more than 30 years of experience representing clients in Arizona state and federal courts. The firm handles DUI, drug crimes, domestic violence, assault, theft, and other felony and misdemeanor charges.

Known for strategic defense and trial experience, Orent Law Offices helps clients throughout the Phoenix area protect their rights, freedom, and future.

Mark Weingart sat on the bench before moving to the defense side. He holds the State Bar of Arizona certification in criminal law that roughly 1% of attorneys carry.

His Tempe firm covers DUI and criminal charges throughout the Phoenix metro area, backed by over 50 years of experience with impaired driving law. Weingart wrote a plain-English guide to Arizona DUI rules and gives it away free.

Founded in 1996, this practice has defended thousands of clients in city, state, and federal courts. Robert J. Campos opened it after seven years as a Maricopa County prosecutor and two more in La Paz County. He also sat as a pro tem judge in Scottsdale and Glendale.

Attorney Campos has held State Bar certification as a criminal law specialist since 1995 and has a statewide reputation in sex crime trials. Drug charges, DUI, and probation violations round out the work, and the office is bilingual.

Long and Simmons Law is a Phoenix practice built around sex crime defense. Its roster includes a former major felony bureau chief and a former major crime prosecutor. Between them, the attorneys hold over 50 years of experience.

DUI, felony, and vehicular matters fill out the caseload. A dedicated litigator handles the firm's auto injury side.

Bruce Blumberg has tried close to 100 jury cases and won not-guilty verdicts in six first-degree murder trials. The board-certified specialist has defended Arizona clients for over 30 years, handling drug, weapons, and aggravated assault charges.

Crimmigration is the specialty here: cases where a criminal charge threatens a non-citizen's status. Ballecer and Segal has represented over 1,000 clients from its Phoenix office, pairing deportation defense with criminal work.

Bernardo Garcia has built a 30-year practice around defending clients whose mental illness shapes the case, from misdemeanors up to first-degree murder. He gives free consultations and visits jails throughout Maricopa County.

AZ Defenders is a Phoenix firm with two of the five board-certified DUI law specialists in Arizona, plus three certified criminal law specialists. Founder Craig Rosenstein is a past president of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Domestic violence, sex offense, and drug charges make up much of the docket.

RJ Suzuki worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Deputy Maricopa County Attorney before switching sides. His Phoenix office now defends federal drug prosecutions, aggravated assault, and DUI charges, with dismissals and sharply reduced pleas on the case results page.

For over 25 years, the Law Offices of Michael E. Ziton have defended charges statewide, from arrest warrants and disorderly conduct to felony assault and domestic violence. Ziton works out of Scottsdale and travels to courts anywhere in Arizona.