Recognized Among the Top Criminal Defense Attorneys in America.

The National Trial Lawyers is a professional organization composed of the premier trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is by invitation only — it is not applied for and cannot be purchased.

Fewer than 100 criminal defense attorneys in California receive this designation each year. Selection is based on professional achievements, trial experience, leadership, and reputation within the legal community. The Top 100 designation represents the upper tier of active trial attorneys in each state.

Inclusion in the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 is peer recognition from the broader criminal defense bar — not a self-assessment. For clients choosing a criminal defense attorney, it is one of the few honors that reflects how the attorney is regarded by other attorneys who try cases for a living.

The National Trial Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 program recognizes criminal defense attorneys under the age of 40 who have demonstrated exceptional performance, outstanding verdicts and results, and significant professional achievement early in their careers.

Candidates are nominated and independently vetted. Selection is not available through application or payment. The designation identifies attorneys who have already achieved at a high level before reaching the point in a legal career where most attorneys are still building their practice.

Top 40 Under 40 is a recognition of trajectory as much as achievement — it identifies attorneys who are performing at a level most of their peers will not reach for another decade, if at all. For clients, it signals that the attorney across the table has already proven themselves in contested, high-stakes matters.

Super Lawyers is an independent rating service that identifies outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The Rising Star designation recognizes attorneys in the first ten years of practice or under the age of 40.

The selection process combines peer nominations with independent research across twelve evaluation factors: verdicts and settlements, transactions, representative clients, honors and awards, special licenses and certifications, position within the firm, bar and professional activity, pro bono and community service, teaching or writing, outstanding young lawyer awards, and other outstanding achievements. Fewer than 2.5% of attorneys in California receive the Rising Star designation in any given year. The designation cannot be purchased, applied for, or self-nominated — it requires nomination from within the legal community followed by independent verification.

Super Lawyers Rising Star is among the most rigorous attorney rating processes in the legal industry. The 2.5% threshold makes it genuinely selective — not a list that includes most attorneys who apply. For clients, it is third-party validation from a research process specifically designed to be independent of the attorney’s own claims about their record.

Los Angeles Magazine is one of the leading regional publications in Southern California, covering culture, business, and professional life across the greater LA and Orange County area.

The Outstanding Young Lawyers recognition is an editorial selection — Los Angeles Magazine identifies lawyers making a meaningful impact in their field and in their community. Selection reflects both professional standing and the attorney’s broader contribution to the practice of law in Southern California.

LA Magazine’s recognition extends beyond courtroom metrics to professional reputation and community standing. For Orange County clients, it is a regionally specific validation from an independent publication with no financial relationship with the attorneys it recognizes.