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  • Misdemeanors

  • Assaults 

  • Battery 

  • Retail Theft

  • DUI/DWI Defense

  • White Collar-Litigation
     

Criminal

DUI/DWI Defense

 

Lawyers who practice in the area of DUI/DWI Defense represent citizens who are charged in the criminal justice system with violating Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Impaired statutes. A conviction for DUI/DWI in many states can carry a mandatory jail sentence, suspension of driving privileges, significant fines, and other collateral consequences. 

A qualified DUI/DWI lawyer may be able to identify legal and factual defenses that can help minimize or avoid the severe penalties associated with a DUI/DWI conviction. Lawyers who limit their practice to the defense of DUI/DWI cases have training and experience that allow evidence such as blood or breath tests and roadside sobriety tests to be challenged in court. 

In many cases, where evidence has not been properly gathered, or where police fail to follow proper procedures, a DUI/DWI Defense lawyer can plea bargain with the state prosecutor to reduce or even dismiss the charges before trial. If a DUI/DWI case has to go to trial, a DUI/DWI Defense lawyer will have expertise in trial techniques to show that the state cannot prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Since DUI/DWI and driver’s license laws vary widely by state, it is important to identify a lawyer who not only practices this area of the law, but also in the jurisdiction where the charges are filed.

White Collar-Litigation

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Once a niche practice developed by only some law firms, white-collar defense has become a core practice with national and international scopes at the largest American law firms. Over the last 15 years, white-collar defense has grown to respond to the globalization of both American and foreign corporations, the expansion of government oversight of businesses in the U.S. and abroad, and the numerous financial scandals that have erupted over the same period. 

“White-collar defense” captures a broad set of substantive areas of the law, all of them arising from the myriad ways that local, state, federal and foreign governments regulate businesses and entrepreneurs — what they say to investors and the general public about their own successes and failures (securities law); how they compete with one another (antitrust law); how they win business, deliver services and seek payment when governments are themselves the customers (False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); how businesses treat the environment; and whether they comply with general laws against theft, fraud, bribery, tax evasion and corruption. Public officials must navigate similar rules and thus present similar types of issues included under the broad category of white-collar defense. 

The practice demands particularly versatile lawyers who deliver a range of services. White-collar lawyers try cases in court. They also specialize in risk management and compliance, training businesses and their individual employees about ways to minimize potential criminal and civil liability. Corporations engage white-collar lawyers to conduct internal investigations of their own business practices to assess and prepare for the risk of criminal and civil liability. Individuals and corporations demand white-collar representation as much when they are merely witnesses to alleged wrongdoing as when they are accused of it. White-collar litigation also involves assessing victims’ damages and their potential remedies as well as representing those accused of wrongdoing in administrative and court proceedings. 

White-collar practices also must anticipate and prepare for the potential trajectory of a white-collar case. For example, an internal investigation identifying potential criminal or civil issues can lead to government enforcement actions and follow-up civil claims by alleged victims or competitors—all arising from the same conduct. The risk of criminal punishment and civil fines and liability potentially running into the billions of dollars, increase the complexity of white-collar matters and the demand for sophisticated counsel.

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