Best Nashville TN Criminal Defense Lawyers

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Why These Nashville Criminal Lawyers?

We help connect consumers with top-rated criminal defense attorneys in Nashville. 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 Nashville.

  • Attorneys reviewed: 22
  • 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 Nashville handle everything from DUIs to simple misdemeanors to white-collar crimes to violent felonies. Get the best legal defense in Nashville 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 Nashville Criminal Defense Lawyers

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

  1. Ryan C. Davis Law
  2. Bryan Stephenson
  3. Brian Lee Nash
  4. Matt Maniatis
  5. Sherwood Boutique Litigation

Best Nashville Criminal Defense Lawyers for 2021

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

Ryan C. Davis Law

1224 2nd Ave S Suite #102

Nashville, TN 37210

Phone: (615) 649-0110

The two attorneys at Ryan C. Davis Law have years of experience in criminal defense, and the firm is highly rated on Avvo as well as maintaining membership in the DUI Defense Lawyers Association. The firm’s attorneys represent clients in Nashville and elsewhere in middle Tennessee.

In addition to assisting individuals charged with DUI, Ryan C. Davis Law takes on cases relating to charges like drug possession, theft, assault, domestic violence, weapons possession, and even homicide. Both of the firm’s attorneys are graduates of Tennessee universities, which gives them personal insight into the local justice system.

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


Bryan Stephenson

2021 Richard Jones Road, Suite 150E

Nashville, TN 37215

Phone: (615) 515-5110

Bryan Stephenson is a Tennessee native who has been practicing criminal defense law for almost two decades. He spent the early part of his career in the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, which gives him unique insight into how to dismantle a prosecutor’s case against a defendant.

Stephenson handles cases on behalf of clients accused of a wide variety of crimes, including public intoxication, DUI, drug crimes, robbery, assault, unlawful weapons possession, and he assists those who have paid their debt to society in having their records wiped away so they can return to normal life.

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

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


Brian Lee Nash

41 Peabody Street, Suite 102

Nashville, TN 37210

Phone: (615) 809-1859

Attorney Brian Lee Nash has a long track record of achieving successful outcomes on behalf of clients in Nashville and throughout middle Tennessee. With experience in both state and federal courts, clients can rest assured Nash can handle many types of cases.

Nash’s primary criminal defense practice areas include immigration, drug crimes, domestic violence, DUI, theft, sex crimes, white-collar crimes, assault, and probation violations. He can also assist clients with having their previous records expunged so there are fewer barriers to full participation in society.

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

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/615nashlaw/


Matt Maniatis

211 Donelson Pike, Ste 204

Nashville, TN 37214

Phone: (615) 366-1611

Attorney Matt Maniatis primarily assists foreign nationals, immigrants, and permanent legal residents with a wide variety of legal issues. As such, Maniatis has extensive experience in immigration courts, which often function quite differently than traditional courts most people are familiar with.

Maniatis maintains a 10.0 rating on Justia and has been honored by the National Trial Lawyers and Super Lawyers. His primary practice areas include immigation and naturalization law, deportation and removal defense, DUI, and other criminal, family, and estate law.

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

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


Sherwood Boutique Litigation

201 4th Ave N Suite 1130,

Nashville, TN 37219

Phone: (615) 527-8793

The three attorneys at Sherwood Boutique Litigation have a combined nearly 40 years of legal experience. The firm’s unique approach, in addition to taking on a limited number of cases, involves attorneys and support staff diving deep in your case to help tell your story to judges, juries, and investigators.

Led by founding partner Cynthia Sherwood, the firm handles criminal cases across an array of areas, including assault, identity theft, burglary, gun possession, drug charges, and juvenile cases.

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

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


What Types of Crimes Are Most Common in Nashville?

About 35,000 crimes were reported in Nashville in 2019, the most recent year for federal data on crime across the country. Like elsewhere in Tennessee and across the nation, most of those 35,000 crimes were property-based, such as burglary or motor vehicle theft. In fact, property crime accounted for 79 percent of all crimes in Nashville, with larceny-theft representing about two in three criminal incidents in the city.

On a population-adjusted basis, violent crime occurs in Nashville at a rate of about 1,000 per 100,000 people, while property crime happens at a rate of about 4,000 per 100,000. Like other cities and major metro areas, Nashville has higher crime rates than the nation as a whole, which has a violent crime rate of about 367 per 100,000 people and a property crime rate of about 2,100 per 100,000.

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

Crime Number Per 100,000 people
All violent crimes 7,376 1,073
Murder 83 12
Rape 438 64
Robbery 1,978 288
Aggravated assault 4,877 710
All property crimes 27,777 4,041
Burglary 3,374 491
Larceny-theft 21,655 3,150
Motor vehicle theft 2,748 400
Arson 60 9

Looking at rates for the 10 biggest cities in Tennessee, Nashville ranks in the top half for all crime categories except for rapes, where the city is sixth. Nashville is second in the state for robbery and its overall violent crime rate, behind only Memphis. The broader metro area, which includes Davidson County and Murfreesboro, ranks near the top of other major U.S. metro areas for aggravated assault (10th) and overall violent crimes (12th).

Like many other cities, Nashville saw crime drop overall during the pandemic, while violent crimes increased. In 2020, the city saw assaults and homicide rise, while many other types of crime decreased.

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