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The Law Office of Patrick Dudley is a boutique law practice that exclusively handles criminal defense cases.
100% of my cases are criminal defense cases. I do not handle civil cases such as personal injury or family law cases. Moreover, criminal defense is the only area of law that I have practiced since becoming a lawyer in 1999. I believe in order to be a trustworthy and effective defense attorney that you can never equivocate on your role in the judicial system. My heart and soul has always been and will always be on the side of the criminal defendant. I have never worked as a prosecutor or a cop. I proudly admit that in every single case in my career I have always been on the side of the defendant against the government. The deck is stacked enough against criminal defendants in the American justice system. The legal system gives a lot of latitude and political cover to the police and prosecutors in going after people. The resources of the government in an investigation and prosecution vastly outweigh the resources of any targeted individual. And unfortunately, socioeconomic, racial, and other nefarious forms of discrimination drive many criminal investigations and prosecutions. The individual needs a loyal, zealous, and compassionate defender who will fight tirelessly for them. As a criminal defense attorney, my unequivocal loyalty is to my client who the government is attacking through the judicial system. I do not equivocate on that role; I never have and I never will.
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I am prepared, creative, strategic, and meticulous in my advocacy for my clients.
For me, it all starts the moment I first meet a client. The most important thing that I do is to listen. Many people believe that a good lawyer is just a smooth talker. While that is true in part, a truly exceptional lawyer is better yet a good listener who understands that communication is not just a one way street from the attorney to the client. I want to know every aspect of my client’s case, but I also want to know my client as a person. My clients appreciate that I am always personally and promptly available to them via phone, text, or e-mail. I’m always the one who returns their calls. I’m always the one who comes to court with them. I don’t send another attorney to court to handle my business. Once I know my client and his or her case, I then prepare the best factual, legal, and forensic arguments to defend them. I retain the best investigators to locate evidence, interview witnesses, and uncover expulpatory or impeachment evidence. I find and retain forensic experts for each individual case to critique the prosecution’s evidence and to buttress our own arguments. I exhaustively research the law and personally write every substantive motion or legal pleading from scratch. I am thorough and creative with my legal strategies and meticulous in presenting my arguments to the prosecutor, the court, and ultimately a jury.
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I am ethical and well-respected.
I have practiced criminal defense in California for over 20 years. Before practicing law, I was educated at top tier schools: Occidental College in Los Angeles and UC Law San Francisco. While practicing law, I have earned a sterling reputation among judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel for ethical and professional conduct. Many judges have commended my professionalism and litigation expertise. In my opinion, this reputation is important because an attorney’s credibility can sometimes be the difference between an argument that is listened to or one that falls on deaf ears. People in the legal community and former clients alike know that I’m a straight shooter. My service on Governor Newsom’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee (JSAC) since 2019 speaks to my solid reputation in the legal community. For more than 5 years, I have volunteered to assist the Governor’s office in vetting candidates for judicial appointment in San Diego County.  During my tenure on the JSAC, Governor Newsom has appointed 25+ judges which our committee had vetted prior to their appointment.

MY PRACTICE AREAS

Felonies

I have successfully represented 200+ clients in felony cases throughout California in an array of charges including: murder, burglary, mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, gang and firearm allegations, and narcotics manufacturing, transportation, and sales.

Misdemeanors

I have successfully represented 300+ clients in misdemeanor charges including charges of domestic violence, child endangerment, drug possession, prostitution, shoplifting, battery, and driving offenses such as hit and run and driving on a suspended license.

DUIs

I have successfully represented 300+ clients in DUI cases involving felony and misdemeanor charges involving DUI with injury or death, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time DUI cases, driving under the influence of a drug or marijuana, and high blood alcohol cases.

White Collar Defense

I have successfully represented 100+ clients in “white collar” defense cases. Those cases included charges of securities fraud, identity theft, unemployment insurance fraud, health care fraud, tax fraud, and other regulatory offenses.

Appellate Defense

I have successfully represented clients in writs and appeals in misdemeanor and felony cases including motions for new trial and motions to withdraw guilty pleas.

Medical Marijuana Defense

I have successfully represented 100+ individuals, families, collectives, and dispensaries protect their right to grow, use, travel with, and provide medical marijuana under the Compassionate Use Act.

Probation Violations

I have successfully represented many clients facing allegations of probation violations in both misdemeanor and felony cases.

Criminal Record Expungement

I have successfully represented many clients in reducing their charges from felonies to misdemeanors, terminating probation early, modifying probation conditions, and expunging convictions.

“Everybody has a right to be defended, and every lawyer has a duty to defend people accused. And my office is to defend him, to discuss the accusation point by point, as I think this is a normal step in a democracy.”

Jacques Verges

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