The 2013 List of Dallas' Best Criminal Defense Lawyers - as voted by their peers

After weeks of peer nominations followed by weeks of voting, here is the 2013 list of Dallas' Best Criminal Defense Lawyers as chosen by their peers.  Each list is in alphabetical order.

If my son/daughter were charged with MURDER/AGGRAVATED ROBBERY in Dallas County:

TOP 13

• Scottie Allen
• Brook Busbee
• Phillip Hayes
• Paul Johnson
• Edwin "Bubba" King
• Brad Lollar
• George Milner
• Doug Mulder
• Reed Prospere
• John Read
• Toby Shook
• Zeke Tyson
• Gary Udashen

If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY DRUG OFFENSE in Dallas County:

TOP 12 

• Clint Broden
• Patrick Jordan
• Brad Lollar
• Kirk Lechtenberger
• Martin LeNoir
• George Milner
• Scott Palmer
• David Pire
• Reed Prospere
• Zeke Tyson
• Gary Udashen
• Kenneth Weatherspoon

If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY SEX CRIME in Dallas County:

TOP 5 

• Susan Anderson
• Sharon Curtis
• Craig Jett
• Tom Pappas
• Toby Shook

If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY in Dallas County:

TOP 13 

• Scottie Allen
• Susan Anderson
• Clint Broden
• Book Busbee
• David Finn
• Lisa Fox
• Edwin "Bubba" King
• Kirk Lechtenberger
• Martin LeNoir
• George Milner
• Reed Prospere
• Zeke Tyson
• Gary Udashen

If my son/daughter were charged with a MISDEMEANOR in Dallas County:

TOP 13 

• Stephanie Alvarado
• Susan Anderson
• Brook Busbee
• John Cook
• John Gioffredi
• Deandra Grant
• Macy Jaggers
• Mark Lassiter
• Tim Menchu
• George Milner
• Scott Palmer
• Sandra Reynolds
• Toby Shook

If my son/daughter were charged with a MILITARY OFFENSE in Dallas County:

TOP 2 

• Patrick McLain
• Mike McCollum

If my son/daughter were charged with an offense involving FAMILY VIOLENCE in Dallas County:

TOP 3

• Jennifer Balido
• Erin Hendricks
• Macy Jaggers

If my son/daughter were charged with a DWI in Dallas County:

TOP 10 

• Larry Boyd
• David Burrows
• Mimi Coffey
• John Cook
• John Gioffredi
• Deandra Grant
• Mark Lassiter
• Chris Lewis
• George Milner
• Doug Wilder

If my son/daughter needed to APPEAL a criminal case:

TOP 5 

• Bruce Anton
• Clint Broden
• Michael Mowla
• Gary Udashen
• Robert Udashen

If my son/daughter were charged with a criminal offense in FEDERAL COURT:

TOP 5

• Clint Broden
• David Finn
• Kirk Lechtenberger
• Gary Udashen
• Robert Udashen

If my son/daughter were charged with a criminal offense and suffered from a MENTAL ILLNESS in Dallas County:

TOP 3

• Susan Anderson
• Lisa DeWitt
• Vanita Parker

If my son/daughter were charged with an offense as a JUVENILE:

TOP 2

• Gina Clark
• Patrick McLain

Our "Future Stars":

• Sheridan Lewis
• Ashkan Mehryari
• Sallye Wilton

Voting Underway in 13 Categories

After weeks of peer nominations, the Dallas criminal bar is now VOTING on the best criminal defense lawyers in Dallas in 13 categories.

The ballot consists of a series of questions and a list of nominees to choose from:

If my son/daughter were charged with MURDER/AGGRAVATED ROBBERY in Dallas County, I would call:

If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY DRUG OFFENSE in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY SEX CRIME in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a FELONY in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a MISDEMEANOR in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a MILITARY OFFENSE in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with an offense involving FAMILY VIOLENCE in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a DWI in Dallas County, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter needed to APPEAL a criminal case, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a criminal offense in FEDERAL COURT, I would call:
 
If my son/daughter were charged with a criminal offense and suffered from a MENTAL ILLNESS in Dallas County, I would call:

If my son/daughter were charged with an offense as a JUVENILE, I would call:

Our "Future Stars":

Voting runs through May 31.  Results will be posted on this blog after June 1.  

It All Started on a Tuesday

My D Magazine arrived.  For those that don't know, D Magazine is a glossy little mag good for locating the best new restaurants and occasionally an article on something interesting going on in Dallas.  They also have a penchant for publishing "Best Of" lists that run the gamut from Best Margarita to Best Doctors. 

I've been on the "Best Lawyers" list a few times.  To have your profile printed in the magazine after winning this "honor", one must be prepared to pony up quite a bit of cash but it's still a nice list to be on.

One issue I've always had with D Magazine's lawyer list is that it's touted as a list of attorneys that were "chosen by their peers".  Really?  How exactly?

I'm in my 20th year of criminal practice in Dallas.  Since 2007, I've served on the Board of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.  In all that time I've never known of D Magazine to solicit nominations from the defense bar.  Never.  Dallas also has a Dallas Black Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.  I don't believe they have been solicited for nominations, either.  So where are the nominations coming from for the criminal category?  If not the criminal defense bar, then who is doing the nominating?

My curiosity about this "chosen by their peers" tagline would have faded had I not opened the magazine.  As I flipped through the pages looking for outstanding peers, I started noticing something odd.  In total, there were 19 lawyers listed in the magazine and on their website under the category of criminal defense.  Several of them deserved to be there.  Others made my jaw drop.  However, the real kicker was when it dawned on me that they all shared something in common - 19 lawyers - all white and all male.  

Huh.  Isn't that something?  Mysterious "peers" nominated 19 white guys as the best criminal defense lawyers in Dallas.  

Here's the trouble with that fairy tale - the chances of that actually taking place with the makeup of our criminal defense bar are about as likely as me replacing Romo as quarterback for the Cowboys.  

What a farce - and an insulting one, to boot.

I emailed the mental giants at D Magazine.  They emailed back an inane response.  

What to do?

How about an ACTUAL peer nomination of the best criminal defense lawyers in Dallas by the Dallas criminal bar followed by a vote?  

So that's what we're going to do.

Nominations started a few weeks back.  Online voting begins tomorrow.  We'll have a list by June 1.  Not the bizarro world D Magazine list.  We'll have the real deal and it will be published on this blog.  

Stay tuned.