Bill Powers is a criminal defense lawyer in Charlotte with more than 30 years in North Carolina courtrooms. He is a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist through the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.
Attorney Powers is a former president of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He also received the North Carolina State Bar Distinguished Service Award and a spot on the Business North Carolina Legal Elite list.
The firm handles DWI, drug charges, assault, theft, and felony matters. Its reach covers Mecklenburg, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, and Union County courts.
Powers Law Firm publishes free county-by-county DWI guides for Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, and Rowan. Consultations are free and payment plans are available.
Matthew R. Arnold and J. Bradley Smith started this practice in 2007 in the attic of another attorney's office. A year later they moved into the John Price Carr House. The Victorian landmark sits on the National Historic Register and still serves as the main office.
J. Bradley Smith leads the criminal side. He is a former prosecutor who has defended thousands of impaired-driving and other serious criminal cases in state and federal courts.
The team covers drug trafficking, embezzlement, burglary, sex offenses, violent crime, and expungements. Cases run through Mecklenburg, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Stanly, and Union County courts.
Four offices serve Charlotte, Mooresville, Monroe, and Ballantyne. Phones are staffed around the clock and the staff speaks Spanish, which matters when you need a criminal defense attorney in Charlotte at odd hours.
Few defense lawyers write the book their opponents study. Samuel J. Randall IV co-authored the fourth edition of Criminal Procedure in North Carolina. Law schools teach from it and other defense attorneys keep it on the shelf.
Randall has built his reputation since 1998, and the firm counts more than 35 years of combined defense experience. It is one of the few Charlotte practices with a board-certified specialist in both state and federal criminal law.
Work spans DWI, felony charges, weapons cases, federal drug offenses, and RICO matters. Associate attorney William E. Pastor III rounds out the team.
Clients have left more than 150 five-star Google reviews.
Defending the accused since 1985, this North McDowell Street office sits minutes from the Mecklenburg courthouse.
Robert DeCurtins and Brandon DeCurtins bring more than three decades of trial work to DWI, drug crimes, assault, theft, and probation violations. Both are reachable 24 hours a day.
Case consultations cost nothing. The practice also handles personal injury claims.
Brad Icard is a Charlotte native who spent his early career as an Assistant District Attorney. Since 1995, he has represented more than 30,000 people in state criminal courts.
The practice takes on roughly 2,500 clients a year, from speeding tickets and license restoration to serious felonies. Icard handles every case himself rather than passing files to associates.
Expungement petitions and DWI charges make up a steady share of the work.
Since 2006, this East Independence Boulevard firm has focused on Charlotte's Latino community. That focus shapes the practice: criminal charges and immigration consequences get handled under one roof.
Bradley W. Butler, Matthew Quinn, and Brian R. Hochman lead a team that has grown to six attorneys and 24 support staff. Deportation defense, asylum, and immigration bonds sit alongside assault, revoked license, and DWI cases.
Saturday appointments are available. More than 200 clients have left five-star Google reviews.
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Banks Huntley prosecuted cases for North Carolina's Twentieth-A district before switching sides. He tried everything there from speeding tickets to first-degree murder.
His practice now takes criminal matters only, nothing else. Huntley is in Charlotte's criminal courts most days and personally handles every file, giving clients his cell number.
Coverage extends across Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston, Stanly, Anson, and Richmond counties. Payment plans and credit cards are accepted.
Location does a lot of work here. The office sits directly across from the Mecklenburg County jail and within walking distance of the courthouse.
Brandon Roseman handles traffic law, DUI, expungements, underage alcohol offenses, and district, superior, and federal criminal matters. A Spanish interpreter works on staff.
The firm also takes car accident and wrongful death claims.
William M. Willis IV passed the North Carolina bar on his first attempt in 1994 and has defended criminal and traffic charges ever since. The North Carolina State Bar certifies him as a specialist in criminal law.
He defends impaired driving daily and has argued unlawful stops, faulty license checks, and invalid chemical test results. Serious felony work includes trafficking, kidnapping, and murder charges.
Willis also files bond motions and prepares property bonds so clients can pledge real estate instead of hiring a bondsman. Most matters run on a flat fee quoted in advance, with a Charlotte office available by appointment.
The published results speak plainly. A first-degree murder charge dismissed, a second-degree rape charge dismissed, and a not-guilty verdict on assault with a deadly weapon.
Gael Gilles and Michelle Abbott take state, federal, and South Carolina cases. Their work covers homicide, sex offenses, habitual felon status, breaking and entering, and drunk driving.
The two also run legal training sessions for other defense practitioners.
Established in 2002, this firm pairs criminal work with civil rights litigation. Noell Tin proved the innocence of Kenneth Kagonyera, a man imprisoned for more than a decade for a murder he did not commit.
The team also won a landmark federal ruling in United Church of Christ v. Reisinger. White-collar defense, appellate work, and police misconduct claims round out the practice.
Offices operate in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham.
C. Randolph Emory founded this bilingual practice and has served North Carolina for more than 35 years. Who's Who Publications named him among the Top Attorneys of North America for 2023 to 2024.
Attorneys Christopher Hall and James M. Goard handle felonies, misdemeanors, weapon charges, and impaired driving alongside immigration and injury matters. Every client can work in English or Spanish.
A second office operates in Kinston.
An Iredell County jury acquitted the firm's client Worth Smith of armed robbery after years of waiting. On the civil side, a fatal collision case settled for $3 million.
Issa Hall and Ronard Dixon Jr. run a practice that spans felony and federal defense, CDL and DMV hearings, record clearing, and pre-arrest mitigation. They also file civil rights suits, including a federal action over a six-year-old's drowning death.
Sixty-plus years of practice back this firm, founded by the late Eddie Knox. Attorneys including Allen C. Brotherton, Frances S. Knox, and J. Gray Brotherton work the Mecklenburg and Lincoln County court systems.
Criminal work covers juvenile charges, drug possession, suspended licenses, and concealed carry appeals. Injury and workers' compensation cases share the docket. A second office serves Denver, NC.
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DWI defense is the whole point of this firm. Minick Law runs more than a dozen offices across North Carolina and produces the NC DWI Guy podcast.
Attorney Kristen Dewar covers Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Iredell, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties from the Concord office. The team also takes underage drinking, drug, theft, and license restoration matters.
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Gordon Law is a small uptown practice on East Trade Street. Andrew Gordon takes criminal charges of all kinds plus traffic court, personal injury, and landlord-tenant disputes.
An unusual extra: the site includes an insurance point calculator so drivers can see what a ticket really costs. Consultations are free.
Jaylene Trivino works in Spanish and Portuguese as well as English, which is rare among Charlotte defense attorneys. She calls herself a neighborhood lawyer and keeps her practice to Mecklenburg and Union counties.
Her caseload runs to misdemeanors, drug possession, alcohol offenses, traffic tickets, and record expunction. She also drafts simple wills and handles uncontested divorce.
Practicing in Charlotte since 1985, this Randolph Road firm carries the AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and recognition from U.S. News as one of the country's better law firms.
Eben Rawls, Tony Scheer, Katie Clary, and Amanda Mingo try federal cases, sex offense charges, white collar matters, and drug prosecutions. Several are board-certified specialists. The firm also advises on ABC law and alcohol permit compliance.
Operating since 2009 from the First Ward area of uptown, this office sits minutes from the courthouse and the jail. Parking on site is free.
Kimberly D. Saxton leads a team that takes juvenile law, traffic offenses, and serious felonies. The attorneys travel to the jail for emergency consultations, and staff members speak Spanish fluently.
Harold Cogdell Jr. has practiced law for nearly 25 years across more than 25 North Carolina counties. His federal work reaches district courts in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Kansas.
He chaired the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and the Charlotte Housing Authority board, and served on Charlotte City Council. Business and corporate matters share the practice with defense work.
Tracy Hatcher runs this North McDowell Street practice, pairing defense work with family law. Cases come from nine counties including Gaston, Union, Cabarrus, and Iredell.
Chris Fialko was named the Best Lawyers 2025 Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year in Charlotte. Board certified with 25-plus years in federal and state court, he takes financial fraud investigations, grand jury subpoenas, and Title IX misconduct allegations.
Carnell Johnson and Elaine Nicholson bring 32-plus years of combined experience to Monroe Road. Their attorneys speak Spanish and Chinese, and the practice ties criminal charges to their immigration consequences.