Criminal Lawyer

Criminal Attorney for Domestic Violence case

Dec 2011

I need a Criminal Defense Attorney to help my husband get out a bad situation. We had a fight and when I was trying to leave the house, he grabbed me so I wouldn't leave. Well, there was some force and I was pretty scared so when I finally could get out, I ran to the neighbor's house and called 911. The cops took him, but I was not expecting that, I thought they would give him a reprimand and a restraining order for a few days. Actually, he was charged with a felony Domestic Violence. Now we need to clear these charges at the first court appearance in two weeks. Any recommendations for a Criminal Defense Attorney who has a reasonable fee and really is a hands on attorney to get him out of trouble? I am not in the Alameda county so we need someone who also serves other counties. We are married for many years, and we actually are very close and do everything together. We are a real family! need a criminal attorney

colin cooper is the best. call his office at 510.558.8400. cooperdefense.com

You want Lynn Gorelick. (510) 785-1444. I am a family law attorney who has worked in the same community and on many of the same cases as Ms. Gorelick for the past 15 years. She is smart, well respected, doesn't cut corners, and tells it like it is. Although her office is located in Hayward, she is well known throughout Northern Alameda County and Contra Costa County. She's thoughtful, too, and will really have a sit-down with your husband and you about some of the other issues that you might want to look at. You are going to get a lot of posts from people telling you to go to a DV advocate and giving all sorts of advice. I know that such an advocate has already contacted you. You want the best DV criminal defense attorney in town? Well, that's Lynn. Good luck to you and take care. Hannah

General criminal lawyer recommendation?

Dec 2010

We haven't done anything wrong (really!) but after researching some of the egregious trampling of constitutional rights happening right now in our local cultural community, my family has decided that we need the name and contact number of good criminal lawyer just in case. We don't want to do research under pressure. Any good recommendations in the east bay for a general criminal lawyer we could call if our rights are being stepped upon? Thanks. Anon

I've turned to Diana L. Weiss in N. Berkeley a few times, and am extremely satisfied. She gives top-quality legal advice, works hard, gets the job done right, is v. easy to reach. She genuinely cares for her clients and has reasonable rates. She specializes in Criminal Law, but does Family Law and knows a bit about other areas as well. She's at 1563 Solano Ave., # 223, Berkeley, CA 94707, (510) 847-1012. DianaWeiss [at] sbcglobal.net VERY satisfied client

I would highly recommend Lewis Romero Esquire. He is an amazing attorney. He understands the needs of his clients and listens to the needs you have. You can email him at consult [at] lewisromero.com and call him at 877.581.0885 I am sure that he will be able to help you. Adrian

2004 - 2007 Recommendations

2003 & Earlier

Mom's Shoplifting Charge

May 2003

Looking for the type of lawyer to call and recommendations on someone specific to handle this. Basically, my mother was accused of shoplifting at a grocery store and held for quite awhile without being told why. She was humiliated and knows that she didn't do anything wrong (turns out she actually even overpaid for her purchase!) but decided to forget the incident... Until a letter arrived a month later asking her to reimburse them $200 for their time in processing her paperwork (police were not called). The store does not publish their phone number and my mom refuses to step foot in the store, she is so upset. The letter came from corporate offices so it has gone up a few levels. We want to talk to an attorney. I assume a civil attorney is who we would call? Anyone have any recommendations on good local attorneys (Oak/Berk)? Anon

From your post, I'm not sure why you want an attorney. If it is to have help in convincing the store to drop the reimbursement request, you might want to get more information first. You could write to the person who sent the letter, asking the basis for the store's contention that your mother should reimburse it. Is the store relying on a specific law? Is there some other legal basis for it's claim? You might also mention that your mother ultimately was vindicated and that the emotional toll of the incident for her was much higher than the paperwork fee that the store voluntarily elected to incur. If she is a regular customer, that might be worth mentioning also. Once you have their response, this may help in deciding whether an attorney is needed. Many attorneys these days charge $200 or more per hour, and this may be an instance where you can resolve the matter yourself. On the other hand, if you are contemplating pursuing some sort of action against the store, you should factor in the stress that will cause for your mother. In such case, the store almost certainly will depose her and that is never a fun experience. If you really do want an attorney in your area, there is a web site that may help: http://www.lawyers.com. I haven't had experience with the site personally, tho', and cannot say anything about the attorneys listed there. Best of luck! anon Anon

I am the Exec Dir of a trial lawyer group and suggest you give us a call - ask for Mailia or Juliette we'll be happy to give you some names of folks who practice in the East Bay and might be able to help you. 415-956-6401. To start you off you might try John Hill at 510-588-1000 or Cheryl White at 415-596-9454 or Chris Dolan 415-421-2800. Good luck to you. Juliette

I feel like I have read somewhere about that business of charging $200 for processing paperwork related to a shoplifting incident as being some kind of scam - I just don't remember what. It was something along the lines of the sender of the letter not actually being the store - the letter just made it look that way to frighten the person into sending the money. But I just don't remember the details. Anyway, I am a lawyer, and I would be happy to call whoever sent you the letter and at least find out what it is they think they are doing. It certainly sounds outrageous. Fran

Give Elena Condes a call at 525-4243. I worked with her on a family law case (I'm an attorney) and I thinks she also deals with criminal and some civil cases. She is very nice and pretty agressive in court. If she can't help you, she may have a referral. AB