Best San Francisco CA Criminal Defense Lawyers

Why These San Francisco Criminal Defense Lawyers?

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

• Attorneys reviewed: 18
• 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 evidence 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 allegations against you.

Skilled criminal defense attorneys in San Francisco handle everything from DUIs to simple misdemeanors to white-collar crimes to violent felonies in both California and federal courts. Get the best legal defense in Fort Worth 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 San Francisco Criminal Defense Lawyers

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

1. Amin Law
2. Pelta Law
3. Law Office of Jonah Chew
4. Lamano Law Office
5. Summit Defense

Best San Francisco Criminal Defense Lawyers for 2021

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

Amin Law

75 Broadway Street

Suite 202A, San Francisco, CA

Phone: (925) 497-0661

Attorney Sam Amin began his career in the Solano County Public Defender’s Office before branching out to his own private criminal defense practice in 2012. Now joined by legal partner Karl Siganpora, Amin Law specializes in a range of criminal defense and family law.

In addition to their main office in the Embarcadero neighborhood of San Francisco, Amin Law’s attorneys have offices in San Mateo, Oakland, and Pleasanton. Their primary criminal defense practice areas include DUIs, domestic violence, internet crimes, drug crimes, vehicular offenses, weapons charges, theft, and violent crimes.

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

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

Pelta Law

1390 Market Street

Suite 200

San Francisco, CA 94102

Phone: (628) 258-8458

Attorney Marc Pelta’s early career was focused on prosecuting criminal cases in the district attorney’s office. But since 2008, he has worked on the other side, defending individuals charged in criminal cases.

Pelta is an experienced litigator, but he’s also an expert at getting cases dismissed before trial ever begins. His primary practice areas include DUIs, drug crimes, juvenile delinquency, and violent felonies, and he’s often called into consult on other cases thanks to his prosecutorial experience.

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

Visit law firm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Pelta-Law-512027752669340/

Jonah Chew

1388 Sutter Street Suite 805

San Francisco, CA 94109

Phone: (415) 484-0906

Attorney Jonah Chew opened his private criminal defense practice in 2006 after spending years in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Chew’s primary practice areas include DUIs, white-collar crimes, sex crimes, drug crimes, and allegations against juveniles.

Chew has earned the Super Lawyers designation, and he’s a dedicated advocate for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through his membership in several groups, including the Asian American Bar Association.

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

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

Lamano Law

505 14th Street

Suite 900

Oakland, CA 94612

Phone: (510) 842-0750

Lamano Law is a woman-owned firm of three attorneys founded by partner Givelle Lamano. The firm’s primary criminal defense practice areas include assault and battery, domestic violence, drug offenses, gun charges, property crimes, sex offenses, theft, and white-collar crimes. Lamano attorneys also take cases aimed at getting records cleared.

The firm has several offices throughout the Bay Area, and their headquarters are in downtown Oakland. Other locations include Alameda, Walnut Creek, and San Francisco. Awards include Super Lawyers Rising Star and Avvo Client’s Choice.

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

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

Summit Defense

580 California Street, 12th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: (415) 666-2316

With 10 attorneys on the roster, Summit Defense is one of the largest criminal defense firms, not just in the Bay Area but the entire U.S. Summit Defense attorneys include three former prosecutors, a board-certified appeals specialist, and a former police officer.

From their offices in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Redwood City, and elsewhere in northern California, the firm’s attorneys specialize in defending criminal cases like assault, sex crimes, theft, DUI, drug crimes, domestic violence, and white-collar crimes.

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

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

What Types of Crimes Are Most Common in New York?

About 170,000 crimes were reported in New York City in 2019, the most recent year for federal data on crime across the country. Like elsewhere across the country, property crimes are considerably more common in New York than violent crimes. Of the 170,000 incidents reported in 2019, 72 percent of them were property crime with larceny-theft alone accounting for 63 percent.

Given that it’s the largest city in the country, it’s easy to understand why New York City would be the home of so many crimes, but on a population-adjusted basis, the city has lower-than-average property crime compared to the rest of the country. Still, its violent crime rate is higher than the overall U.S. rate. New York’s population-adjusted violent crime rate is about 570 per 100,000 people, while its property crime rate is just under 1,500 per 100,000. That compares with a national violent crime rate of 367 per 100,000 people and a property crime rate of about 2,100 per 100,000.dow

Crimes in New York, by number and per 100,000 people

Though New York City is many times larger than the next-biggest city in New York state, its population-adjusted crime rates tend to be on the lower side. Compared to the 10 biggest cities in the state, New York City ranks no higher than fifth for any crime type, coming in fifth place for its overall violent crime rate and in each individual violent crime category. (Buffalo ranks first in the majority of crime categories.) The city also compares favorably to other major U.S. cities and metro areas, ranking in the top 15 for just two crime categories — overall violent crime (12th) and robbery (10th).

New York, like many other major American cities, experienced a decline in crime overall as a result of the pandemic. However, as in many other cities, violent crimes like homicide and aggravated assault rose. The number of murders in the city climbed by 44 percent, though crime as a whole fell. So far in 2021, murders and shootings have both declined, which could signal a return to lower crime rates.

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