Charlotte natives Matthew Arnold and J. Bradley Smith founded Arnold & Smith in 2007. The main office is a restored Victorian home in uptown Charlotte listed on the National Register.
Smith, a former prosecutor, leads the criminal practice group. He has defended clients in thousands of DWI and felony matters in state and federal court. The team also files expungements for people whose charges were dismissed.
Beyond Charlotte, the firm has offices in Lake Norman, Monroe, and Ballantyne. Its lawyers appear in seven county courts, including Mecklenburg, Gaston, and Union. Phones are answered around the clock.
Powers Law Firm PA is a criminal defense firm in Charlotte led by attorney Bill Powers. He has defended people facing criminal charges for more than 30 years. He is a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist through the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.
Powers is a former president of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He also received the North Carolina State Bar Distinguished Service Award. Best Lawyers has named him Charlotte's Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year.
The firm takes DWI, drug, assault, and domestic violence cases, along with felony death by vehicle charges. It covers Mecklenburg, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Union, and Rowan counties. Criminal consultations are free, and payment plans are available.
Randall Law, PLLC is a criminal defense firm in Charlotte that handles both state and federal cases. Managing partner Samuel J. Randall IV has practiced since 1998. He co-authored the fourth edition of Criminal Procedure in North Carolina, a text used in law schools.
The firm includes a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist for state and federal court. Its caseload includes:
- Drug trafficking and weapons charges
- Federal fraud, conspiracy, and RICO cases
- Firearm possession at the airport
- Sex offenses and violent felonies
Robert DeCurtins founded DeCurtins Law Office in 1985 after serving as an assistant public defender in Charlotte. Before law school, he gave more than 8,000 polygraph exams. That training shapes how the firm cross-examines officers about their interview methods.
His son Brandon joined the North Carolina Bar in 2009. He was named to The National Trial Lawyers' Top 40 Under 40 list. Only two attorneys work here. The lawyer at the first meeting is the one who argues the case.
The office is a short walk from the courthouse. It also takes personal injury claims.
The Icard Law Firm is a criminal and traffic defense practice in Charlotte. Former Assistant District Attorney Brad Icard runs it. He graduated from Campbell University School of Law in 1992 and joined the prosecutor's office right after.
Since 1995, he has represented more than 30,000 people in state criminal courts. Icard handles every case himself instead of passing files to associates. His practice covers felonies, speeding tickets, license restoration, and expungement petitions across Mecklenburg County.
Butler, Quinn & Hochman has served Charlotte's Latino community since 2006. The firm keeps criminal defense, immigration, and injury work under one roof.
Attorneys Bradley Butler, Matthew Quinn, and Brian Hochman lead the team. The criminal side covers revoked licenses, assault, and violent crimes. Staff speak Spanish, and Saturday meetings are available by appointment.
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Banks Huntley is a Charlotte criminal defense attorney who practices only criminal law. He began as an assistant district attorney in Prosecutorial District 20A, trying cases up to first-degree murder.
Attorney Huntley handles every file himself and gives clients his cell number. He takes cases in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston, Stanly, Anson, and Richmond counties. Payment plans are often available.
Tin Fulton Walker & Owen is a Charlotte trial firm founded in 2002. It takes on hard criminal cases. Noell Tin helped prove Kenneth Kagonyera innocent of murder after more than a decade in prison.
The firm also handles white-collar crime, civil rights, and police misconduct claims. Its Charlotte office sits in the historic Villalonga-Alexander House, with more offices in Raleigh and Durham.
Roseman Law Firm sits across the street from the Mecklenburg County jail, within walking distance of the courthouse. Managing attorney Brandon Roseman handles traffic tickets, DWI checkpoint cases, and underage drinking charges.
The office also files expungements and represents CDL drivers at DMV hearings. A Spanish interpreter works on the team.
William M. Willis IV is a criminal defense lawyer board certified by the North Carolina State Bar. Licensed since 1994, he has always limited his practice to criminal and traffic cases.
He quotes most fees up front as a flat fee. Willis can also pledge a client's real estate as a property bond, which avoids a bail bondsman. He works from Mooresville and meets Charlotte clients by appointment.
Gilles Law has won a dismissal in a first-degree murder case. Its results also include a not-guilty verdict for assault with a deadly weapon. Attorneys Gael Gilles and Michelle Abbott handle state and federal cases in North and South Carolina. Their work covers violent crime, sex offenses, drug possession, and license points.
For more than three decades, The Emory Law Firm has represented clients across North Carolina. Founder C. Randolph Emory leads a bilingual team that works in English and Spanish.
The criminal practice covers felonies, drug offenses, weapon charges, and impaired driving. Emory has also served as vice chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Citizen Review Board.
Knox Law Center has represented clients for more than six decades from offices in Charlotte and Denver, NC. Its defense lawyers work in the Mecklenburg and Lincoln County court systems. Cases include juvenile charges, suspended licenses, and concealed carry permit appeals.
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Hall & Dixon, PLLC is a Charlotte firm run by Issa Hall and Ronard Dixon Jr. Its results include an armed robbery acquittal from an Iredell County jury. The defense team also handles pre-arrest interviews, federal charges, and CDL hearings. On the civil side, the firm settled a fatal collision case for $3 million.
Minick Law, P.C. is a DWI lawyer group with offices across North Carolina, including Charlotte and Concord. The firm produces the NC DWI Guy podcast. Its team also handles refusal, ignition interlock, and license restoration hearings.
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Uptown Charlotte is home to Gordon Law, the practice of attorney Andrew L. Gordon. He handles criminal charges, traffic tickets, and personal injury claims. The office also resolves landlord-tenant disputes, and first consultations are free.
Charlotte trial lawyers since 1985, Rawls, Scheer, Clary & Mingo holds an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Several of its lawyers are board-certified specialists who defend federal and sex crime charges.
Jaylene Trivino is a Charlotte criminal defense lawyer who speaks Spanish and Portuguese. She handles misdemeanors, traffic tickets, expunctions, and simple wills in Mecklenburg and Union counties.
Kimberly Saxton has run her criminal and traffic practice in Charlotte's First Ward since 2009. The office sits near the courthouse and jail, and staff speak Spanish. Attorneys visit the jail for emergency consultations and take juvenile cases.
Harold Cogdell Jr. is a trial attorney who defends state and federal cases in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Kansas. He once chaired the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and served on Charlotte City Council.
Tracy Hatcher pairs criminal defense with family law from an uptown Charlotte office. The Hatcher Law Office takes cases in nine counties, including Gaston, Union, and Cabarrus.
Chris Fialko is a board-certified defense lawyer with more than 25 years in federal and state court. Best Lawyers named him its 2025 White-Collar Lawyer of the Year in Charlotte. He also handles grand jury subpoenas and healthcare fraud probes.
Founding partners Carnell Johnson and Elaine Nicholson have worked in public defender and attorney general offices. They now handle criminal and immigration cases. The firm has Spanish- and Chinese-speaking attorneys.