Best Miami FL Criminal Defense Lawyers

Why These Miami Criminal Lawyers?

We help connect consumers with top-rated criminal defense attorneys in Miami. To determine which are the best of the best, we scored each criminal defense attorney or law firm across a half-dozen metrics covering three categories. Each firm or attorney’s results were analyzed to bring you a handpicked list of the very best criminal defense lawyers in Miami.

• Attorneys reviewed: 23
• Top picks: 5

If you or a loved one have been arrested, do not delay seeking the assistance of an attorney. The sooner an attorney can get involved in your case, the better your chances of having a strong defense.

The attorney you hire may start right away, studying the authorities’ against you, doing legal research, and preparing legal motions. That’s why the sooner they begin, the better, as they work to chip away at the prosecution’s case against you.

Skilled criminal defense attorneys in Miami handle everything from DUIs to simple misdemeanors to white-collar crimes to violent felonies. Get the best legal defense in Miami by choosing from this list of best criminal defense attorneys.

Read the profiles below and choose the attorney or law firm that best aligns with your needs.

Best Miami Criminal Defense Lawyers

Here are the best criminal defense law firms and attorneys in Miami:

1. Julian Stroleny
2. Quirantes Law Firm
3. Seitles & Litwin
4. Chad Piotrowski
5. Michael Mirer

Best Miami Criminal Defense Lawyers for 2021

If you or a loved one are looking for an outstanding criminal defense attorney in Miami, these lawyers are the best of the best.

Julian Stroleny

1 SE 3rd Ave., Suite 1940

Miami, FL 33131

Phone: (305) 615-1285

Attorney Julian Stroleny is a Miami-area native who began his professional legal career in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, where he learned crucial insights about the criminal justice system. That experience makes him uniquely suited to understanding how prosecutors construct their cases and how to take them apart.

Stroleny’s primary criminal defense practice areas include drug crimes, DUI, white-collar crimes, domestic violence, assault, theft, felonies, misdemeanors, and federal crimes. He also assists clients with having their criminal records sealed or expunged. Stroleny is rated 10.0 on Avvo and has been honored by SuperLawyers and Martindale-Hubbell.

Visit law firm website: https://strolenylaw.com/

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/strolenylaw/

Quirantes Law Firm

1815 NW 7th Street

Miami, FL 33125

Phone: (305) 644-1800

With more than three decades of Miami legal experience, founding partner Albert Quirantes leads a two-attorney firm focused entirely on criminal defense. Partner Carlos P. Gonzales is a former assistant state attorney and chief prosecutor, which helps him bring unique expertise to each case the firm takes on.

Their primary practice area is DUI, but the two attorneys also handle criminal defense in cases related to assault, embezzlement, juvenile crimes, hit and run, drug crimes, domestic violence, sex crimes, theft, and more. The firm has a 10.0 rating on Avvo, as well as earning a Clients’ Choice award.

Visit law firm website: https://www.criminaldefendant.com/

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Albert-Quirantes-Ticket-Law-Center-A-Criminal-DUI-Defense-Law-Firm-135773186500183/

Seitles & Litwin

40 N.W. 3rd Street, Penthouse One

Miami, Florida 33128

Phone: (305) 403-8070

The three attorneys at Seitles & Litwin take a boutique approach to criminal defense, which lets them give maximum attention to every client’s case. Seitles & Litwin handle primarily high-dollar-value criminal cases, including white-collar cases, healthcare litigation, drug trafficking, and money laundering, among others.

Partner Ashley Litwin was recently named one of the top 40 under 40 lawyers in South Florida, while partner Marc Seitles was honored by Florida Trend Magazine as one of the best attorneys in the state.

Visit law firm website: https://www.seitleslaw.com/

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seitleslitwin

Chad Piotrowski

169 East Flagler Street, Suite 1600,

Miami, Florida 33131

Phone: (305) 204-5000

Attorney Chad Piotrowski began his legal career on the other side of the courtroom, prosecuting cases as an assistant state’s attorney for Miami-Dade County, but for the past decade-plus, he has focused on criminal defense. His primary practice areas include felonies, misdemeanors, drug cases, DUI, domestic violence, traffic offenses, federal crimes, and record expungement.

Piotrowski has been honored by the National Trial Lawyers, and he maintains a 10.0 rating on Avvo, as well as being honored with the site’s Clients’ Choice award. While his primary practice is in Miami, Piotrowski also represents clients in the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach areas.

Visit law firm website: https://cplaw-miami.com/

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cplaw/

Michael Mirer

100 North Biscayne Blvd, Suite 1300,

Miami, FL 33132

Phone: (800) 798-0243

Before he entered private criminal defense practice, attorney Michael Mirer gained extensive courtroom experience as an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County. Mirer was selected for the National Association of Distinguished Counsel’s list of the top 1 percent of attorneys in the nation, and he has received high ratings from Martindale-Hubbell.

Mirer’s primary practice areas include drug crimes, theft, violent crimes, DUI, sex crimes, federal charges, and he has vast criminal defense experience across his two-decade career. Mirer has a 10.0 rating on Avvo and has been honored by the National Trial Lawyers.

Visit law firm website: https://www.mirerlaw.com/

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Law-Office-of-Michael-Mirer-PA-285842388197423/

What Types of Crimes Are Most Common in Miami?

About 20,000 crimes were reported in the city of Miami in 2019, the most recent year for federal data on crime across the country. Like most other places across the country, property crimes are much more common in Miami than violent crimes. In fact, about 85 percent of all Miami crimes in 2019 were property-related, with larceny-theft accounting for more than two in three incidents in the city.

On a population-adjusted basis, violent crimes occurred in Miami at a rate of just under 600 per 100,000 residents, while property crimes happened at a rate of nearly 3,700 per 100,000. Both of those rates are much higher than the overall national crime rates, though that’s typical for a major city like Miami. Still, the U.S. violent crime rate of 367 per 100,000 people and property crime rate of about 2,100 per 100,000 are hundreds of points lower than Miami’s rates in both cases.

Crimes in Miami, by number and per 100,000 people

Compared to other major cities in Florida, Miami’s crime rates tend to reside in the middle. Among the 10 biggest Florida cities, Miami’s highest crime category ranking is third (for murders, robberies, and arsons), while it does not lead the state in any category. Comparing the broader metropolitan area to other major cities and metro areas, Miami doesn’t break the top 10 in any crime category. For statistical purposes, the Miami metro area includes Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, and the area’s highest ranking in any category is in larceny-theft, where Miami ranks 15th among the 60 biggest American cities.

Mirroring a broader national trend, Miami experienced a sharp uptick in many types of violent crime, particularly murder, during the first year of the pandemic. But so far in 2021, many crime types have dropped from their 2020, with violent crime dropping by 19 percent, according to Miami-Dade police.

It’s important to note that police- and FBI-reported data does not cover closed cases or incidents for which a person was convicted.