Best Lawyers in America for Criminal Defense: General Practice
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State
William P. Devereaux is a Principal with Pannone Devereaux & O’Gara LLC and leads the firm’s Criminal Defense Team. Attorney Devereaux is a prominent and highly respected criminal and civil litigator, who also has contributed considerable time and effort throughout his thirty five years of practice to provide pro bono legal representation to nonprofit organizations, and has served on several charitable boards. Mr. Devereaux’s practice has included the representation of h...
Lauren M. Fuchs is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Lauren M., who practices law in Memphis, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Lauren M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jonathan Rose is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice. Jonathan, who practices law in Orlando, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jonathan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Derek Byrd was born and raised in Sarasota . He graduated from Florida State University in 1990 with a B. A. in Criminology. He earned his Juris Doctorate Degree from Quinnipiac College of Law in Hamden, Connecticut in 1995 graduating cum laude. After being admitted to the Florida Bar in early 1996, Derek went to work for the Public Defender’s Office in Sarasota, where he gained extensive and valuable trial experience. He opened The Byrd Law Firm in 1998. Mr. Byrd is Board Certified in ...
Bruce S. Griffen is an attorney with Griffen & Stevens Law Firm PLLC , serving clients in Flagstaff, Arizona. His practice focuses on Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Criminal Defense: General Practice , representing individuals facing a wide range of state and federal criminal matters. Bruce S. has been recognized by Best Lawyers since 2010 for his work in Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Criminal Defense: General Practice. This recognition is based on a peer-review process that refl...
Clay Hernandez is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Clay, who practices law in Tucson, Arizona, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Clay is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sonya Pfeiffer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Civil Rights Law, Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Sonya, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sonya is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
James David Smith (“Dave”) is a practicing DUI & criminal defense attorney at the Rosenstein Law Group in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mr. Smith has a strong focus on the defense of the impaired driver. He successfully defends clients facing all degrees of criminal charges ranging from misdemeanor DUI offenses to felony assault charges throughout the Phoenix metro area and Courts in the state of Arizona. James David Smith is a U.S. Army Desert Storm war veteran who regularly provides ...
Elizabeth Franklin-Best is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Appellate Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, and Criminal Defense: General Practice. She is also ranked in Chambers USA 2026 in White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. Elizabeth, who practices law in Columbia, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Elizabeth is held by other ...
James D. Rosenberg is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and DUI / DWI Defense. James D., who practices law in Concord, New Hampshire, has been recognized since 2015. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.