10 Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Charlotte, NC

This guide covers 10 criminal defense attorneys and firms serving Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, ranging from solo practitioners with decades in the Mecklenburg County courthouse to multi-attorney firms with board-certified specialists in state and federal criminal law. Firms were evaluated on the professional background their attorneys bring to a criminal case (time spent as a prosecutor or public defender, board certification from the North Carolina State Bar, trial experience at the state or federal level), the depth of their experience with the charge types most common in Mecklenburg County courts (DWI, drug offenses, assault, white collar crime), and whether criminal defense is a dedicated focus of the practice or one of several unrelated practice areas the firm happens to offer.

A few practical questions are worth asking when comparing options: does the attorney appear regularly in Mecklenburg County District and Superior Court, so they have a working knowledge of how local prosecutors and judges tend to handle a given charge; does the firm have first-hand experience with the specific process your case involves, such as a DMV license revocation hearing running alongside a DWI charge, or a federal indictment moving through the Western District of North Carolina; and does the attorney’s background give them insight into how the State builds its case, which is often true of attorneys who spent time as prosecutors or public defenders before moving into private defense work. This list is not ranked and is not sponsored.

1. Steven T. Meier, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Steven T. Meier, Managing Partner and Owner
• Headquarters: 1515 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203
• Phone: 704-333-3456
• Website: steventmeierpllc.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Federal Criminal Defense, White Collar Crimes, Drug Crimes, DWI/DUI, Traffic Violations, License Suspension, Domestic Violence, Expungement); Immigration; Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Boutique, led by a managing partner with more than 15 years of legal experience
• Practice Area Page: Charlotte Criminal Defense Lawyer
• Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn

About the Firm: Steven Meier started his legal career as a public defender before opening his own practice, and that background shows up in how the firm approaches a criminal case: he has argued from the other side of the table and knows how a Mecklenburg County prosecutor typically evaluates a plea or a trial. The firm’s caseload covers everything from misdemeanor traffic matters to felony drug and white collar charges, litigated in both state and federal court.

What sets the firm apart on the criminal side is that it pairs criminal defense with immigration law under one roof, which matters in Charlotte’s large immigrant community where a criminal charge can carry consequences well beyond the courtroom. Clients facing both a criminal matter and an immigration question can get coordinated advice instead of having to piece together guidance from two separate attorneys.

2. Butler, Quinn & Hochman, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Bradley W. Butler, Founding Partner
• Headquarters: 4801 E Independence Blvd, Suite 700, Charlotte, NC 28212
• Phone: 704-569-9800
• Website: butlerandquinn.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Assault, Violent Crimes, Drunk Driving/DWI Defense, Revoked License); Immigration; Personal Injury; Family Law; Workers’ Compensation
• Firm Size: Mid-size, founded 2006, attorneys admitted in North Carolina and multiple federal district courts
• Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn

About the Firm: Founding partner Bradley Butler has been practicing law since the early 1990s, admitted to the U.S. District Courts covering North Carolina as well as federal appellate courts, and the firm has built its criminal practice around attorneys who have sat on both sides of a case, including at least one associate who previously prosecuted for the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. That experience gives the firm a read on how local prosecutors tend to charge and negotiate.

The firm has spent nearly two decades serving Charlotte’s Latino community specifically, which means its criminal defense work regularly overlaps with immigration consequences, license and DWI matters, and Spanish-language client communication. For a defendant whose criminal case could affect immigration status, that combination of practice areas under one firm is a genuine advantage.

3. Plumides, Romano & Johnson, PC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Richard B. Johnson, Managing Partner
• Headquarters: 2115 Rexford Road, Suite 320, Charlotte, NC 28211
• Phone: 704-333-9900
• Website: prjlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Assault & Battery, DUI & DWI, Drug Crimes, Trafficking, Distribution, Embezzlement, Misdemeanors, Property Crime, Felonies, Stalking); Family Law; Estate Planning; Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Mid-size, multiple partners, firm history in Charlotte dating back decades
• Practice Area Page: Charlotte Criminal Defense Lawyer
• Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn

About the Firm: Plumides, Romano & Johnson has been a fixture in Charlotte’s SouthPark legal community for decades, and its criminal defense team handles the full range of Mecklenburg County charges, from DUI and misdemeanor assault up through drug trafficking and white collar counts like embezzlement. The firm’s longevity in Charlotte means its attorneys have tried cases in front of the same judges and against the same prosecutors for years

Because the firm also has a substantial family law and estate planning practice, it’s a useful choice for a client whose criminal matter intersects with a pending divorce, custody dispute, or protective order, situations that come up often with domestic violence charges. Rather than needing separate counsel for the criminal case and the family court proceeding, a client can keep both matters coordinated within the same firm.

4. Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Noell P. Tin, Founding Partner
• Headquarters: 301 E. Park Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28203 (additional offices in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, NC)
• Phone: 704-338-1220
• Website: tinfulton.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White Collar; Civil Rights Law; Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Boutique, roughly a dozen attorneys, with several individually recognized by Best Lawyers

About the Firm: Noell Tin founded the firm in 2002 and has since been recognized by Best Lawyers for both general criminal defense and white collar defense every year since 2010, including handling federal investigations involving the SEC, IRS, and CFTC. He is best known locally for representing David Ghantt in the Loomis Fargo cash heist case, one of the largest in North Carolina history, and for later winning the release of a Union County man wrongfully convicted of child molestation after 15 years in prison.

The firm’s bench is unusually deep for its size: alongside Tin, both C. Melissa Owen and Jacob Sussman are individually recognized by Best Lawyers in criminal defense and white collar defense, giving clients access to multiple board-level practitioners rather than a single named partner. That depth matters most in complex federal cases, where having more than one experienced attorney on a defense team can be the difference in outcome.

5. Rawls, Scheer, Clary & Mingo, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Anthony G. Scheer, Member
• Headquarters: 2333 Randolph Road, Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28207
• Phone: 704-376-3200
• Website: rdslaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Federal and State, Homicide, Drug Crimes, White Collar Crime, Sex Offenses); ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) Law; Personal Injury; Whistleblower/Qui Tam Litigation
• Firm Size: Boutique, five attorneys, serving Charlotte since 1985

About the Firm: Founded by Eben Rawls in 1985, the firm has three partners, Rawls, Anthony Scheer, and Katie Clary, certified by the North Carolina State Bar as specialists in either federal or state criminal law, a credential the Bar issues to a relatively small number of attorneys statewide. That certification requires demonstrated trial experience and passing a separate specialty examination, on top of an ordinary law license.

The firm’s practice split evenly between criminal defense and personal injury means its criminal attorneys aren’t spread across a long list of unrelated civil practice areas, and its work in North Carolina’s ABC law, which governs alcohol licensing and enforcement, gives it a niche that overlaps usefully with DWI and underage drinking defense. One trade-off of a firm this size is that it can’t offer the multi-office reach of some of the larger regional practices, though its attorneys make up for that with a long track record in Mecklenburg County specifically.

6. Randall Law, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Samuel J. Randall, IV, Managing Partner
• Headquarters: 301 S. McDowell Street, Suite 504, Charlotte, NC 28204
• Phone: 980-237-4579
• Website: federaldefensenc.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Federal Criminal Defense, DWI, Drug Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Burglary, Property Crimes); Professional License Defense; Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Boutique, founded 2013, more than 150 five-star client reviews

About the Firm: Samuel Randall is one of only 54 attorneys in North Carolina board-certified as a specialist in both state and federal criminal law, a distinction that reflects a track record of trial experience reviewed and tested by the State Bar. He is also a co-author of the fourth edition of “Criminal Procedure in North Carolina,” a reference text other attorneys in the state use in their own practice.

The firm’s federal criminal defense work is a particular strength, since relatively few Charlotte firms regularly handle cases in the Western District of North Carolina federal court, where sentencing and procedure differ substantially from state court. Combined with its professional license defense practice, the firm is well positioned for clients whose criminal charge could also put a nursing, medical, or other professional license at risk.

7. Powers Law Firm, PA

• Attorney/Key Figure: Bill Powers, Founder
• Headquarters: 2412 Arty Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28208
• Phone: 704-342-4357
• Website: carolinaattorneys.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense: General Practice; DUI/DWI Defense; Family Law; Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
• Firm Size: Small firm, built around a board-certified founder with more than 25 years of trial experience

About the Firm: Bill Powers tried his first criminal case in Mecklenburg County in 1992 and has focused heavily on DWI and impaired driving defense ever since, earning recognition as a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association and a Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist through the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has also served on the North Carolina State Bar’s Ethics Committee, which speaks to the standing he holds among his peers rather than just his clients.

Powers has been included in Best Lawyers in America since 2010 and was named a “Lawyer of the Year” for criminal defense general practice, and he’s open about traveling across North Carolina to try cases rather than limiting his practice to Mecklenburg County alone. A defendant with a case that will be tried outside Charlotte, or one that needs an attorney comfortable in smaller, less familiar courthouses, may find that statewide willingness useful, though it does mean less of his time is anchored to any single courthouse compared to a firm that works Mecklenburg County exclusively.

8. Arnold & Smith, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: J. Bradley Smith, Founding Member
• Headquarters: 200 N. McDowell Street, Charlotte, NC 28204 (additional offices in Lake Norman, Monroe, and Ballantyne/Indian Land, NC)
• Phone: 704-370-2828
• Website: arnoldsmithlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense and Expungement; DUI/DWI Defense; Traffic Citation Defense; Family Law and Divorce; Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Mid-size, roughly ten attorneys and twenty support staff across four Charlotte-area offices

About the Firm: Brad Smith began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney for Mecklenburg County’s 26th Judicial District, prosecuting both felonies and misdemeanors, before entering private practice in 2006 and co-founding the firm with Matthew Arnold the following year. That prosecutorial background is a recurring theme among Charlotte’s stronger defense attorneys, and Smith has represented clients on charges ranging from minor traffic violations to homicide.

With four offices across the Charlotte metro area and a team of ten attorneys, the firm can offer more scheduling flexibility and bench depth than a solo practice, which is useful for clients juggling court dates across Mecklenburg, Union, and Iredell Counties. The tradeoff of that scale is less individual face time with a single lead attorney compared to a smaller boutique, though the firm’s location two blocks from the Mecklenburg County courthouse keeps its criminal team close to where the work actually happens.

9. Roseman Law Firm, PLLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Brandon Roseman, Managing Attorney
• Headquarters: 101 N. McDowell Street, Suite 206, Charlotte, NC 28204
• Phone: 704-243-9030
• Website: rosemanlawfirmnc.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense; DWI/DUI; Speeding and Traffic Tickets; Expungements; White Collar Crime
• Firm Size: Small firm, founded 2014, five people

About the Firm: Brandon Roseman finished his law degree at North Carolina Central University and began his career as an assistant public defender before also working as a court-appointed attorney for the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, giving him direct experience defending clients who couldn’t afford private counsel. That background, combined with an office located near the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, keeps the firm closely tied to the local court process.

Roseman was named to The National Trial Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 list in 2019, and the firm has built a focused practice around DWI, traffic, and expungement matters rather than trying to be a general-practice shop. The trade-off of a firm this size is that it doesn’t have the bench depth to staff a large, multi-defendant federal case the way a bigger firm could, but for the DWI, misdemeanor, and traffic matters that make up the bulk of Mecklenburg County’s criminal docket, that focus is exactly the point.

10. DeCurtins Law Office

• Attorney/Key Figure: Robert J. DeCurtins, Founder
• Headquarters: 130 North McDowell Street, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28204
• Phone: 704-313-1131
• Website: decurtinslaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Sex Crimes, Violent Crime, Drug Crime, DWI); Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Small firm, two attorneys, more than 40 years of combined criminal defense experience

About the Firm: Robert DeCurtins earned his law degree from the University of Dayton in 1983 and moved to Charlotte to begin his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender before opening his own practice in 1985, giving him one of the longest continuous track records of any defense attorney working in Mecklenburg County today. He also trained as a polygraph examiner earlier in his career, background he has said informs how he evaluates the interrogation tactics used against his clients.

The firm is genuinely small, with Robert DeCurtins and his son Brandon DeCurtins as the only two attorneys, which means clients work directly with the attorney handling their case rather than being passed to an associate. That structure won’t suit someone who wants a large team on a complex multi-count indictment, but for the violent crime, drug, and DWI cases that make up most of the firm’s docket, clients consistently point to the direct access to a single experienced attorney as the reason they hired the firm.

Charlotte, NC Criminal Defense Resources

• Mecklenburg County Courthouse (Criminal Courts Building): 832 E. 4th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 — where most Mecklenburg County criminal cases are heard.
• Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office: Oversees the county jail and inmate information; (704) 336-2120.
• North Carolina Judicial Branch — Mecklenburg County: case lookup, court dates, and local court forms.
• North Carolina State Bar — Lawyer Directory: verify an attorney’s license status and disciplinary history.
• Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office: Provides court-appointed representation for defendants who qualify financially.
• North Carolina Expunction Information: Resources through the NC Judicial Branch on eligibility for clearing certain criminal records.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a felony different from a misdemeanor in North Carolina, and why does the difference matter?

North Carolina classifies felonies into ten classes (Class A through Class I) and misdemeanors into four classes (Class 1 through Class 3, plus a separate Class A1), with sentencing determined by North Carolina’s structured sentencing system, which weighs both the class of offense and the defendant’s prior record level. A felony conviction can also carry consequences beyond the sentence itself, including loss of certain civil rights and firearm ownership restrictions, which is one reason an attorney’s experience with felony-level structured sentencing specifically, not just misdemeanor traffic court, matters when the stakes are higher.

What happens at a DWI’s DMV hearing, and is it separate from the criminal case?

In North Carolina, a DWI arrest can trigger both a criminal case in court and a separate civil license revocation process handled through the DMV, and the two proceed on different timelines with different rules of evidence. An attorney who regularly handles the DMV side of a DWI, not just the criminal charge, can sometimes preserve driving privileges or shorten a revocation period while the criminal matter is still pending, which is why it’s worth asking whether a firm handles both pieces or only the courtroom side.

Will my case be handled in Mecklenburg County District Court or Superior Court?

Misdemeanors and most preliminary matters in North Carolina start in District Court, while felonies are ultimately resolved in Superior Court after either a probable cause hearing or grand jury indictment. An attorney who tries cases regularly in both courts, rather than one who mostly handles District Court traffic matters, will have a better sense of how a Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge or jury is likely to respond to a given defense strategy.

What does it mean for an attorney to be a “Board Certified Specialist” in criminal law?

The North Carolina State Bar certifies attorneys as specialists in a limited number of practice areas, including state and federal criminal law, but only after they demonstrate a substantial volume of trial experience and pass a written specialty examination on top of their regular law license. Relatively few attorneys in the state hold this certification, so it’s a useful, verifiable credential to look for if trial experience is a priority in choosing counsel.

How does a federal criminal case in Charlotte differ from a state case?

Federal criminal cases arising in Charlotte are prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina and follow the Federal Sentencing Guidelines rather than North Carolina’s state structured sentencing system, with generally less discretion for a judge to deviate from a calculated guideline range. Federal cases also typically involve different investigative agencies, evidentiary rules, and plea negotiation dynamics than state charges, so experience specifically trying or negotiating federal cases, rather than only state court experience, is worth confirming before hiring an attorney for a federal matter.

What should I expect to pay for a criminal defense attorney in Charlotte?

Fee structures vary widely depending on whether a case is a misdemeanor, a felony, or a federal matter, and whether it is likely to resolve short of trial or go the distance, so most Charlotte firms offer a free initial consultation to give a specific quote rather than a fixed statewide rate. Asking directly whether a quoted fee is flat or hourly, and what it does and does not cover (such as a separate DMV hearing or an appeal), is a reasonable question to raise at that first meeting.

Can a criminal record be expunged in North Carolina?

North Carolina allows expungement of certain criminal records under specific conditions, which vary depending on whether the charge was a misdemeanor or felony, whether it resulted in a conviction or dismissal, and how much time has passed, and the rules have been expanded several times in recent years. Because eligibility rules change and are fact-specific, confirming current eligibility with an attorney who handles expungements regularly is more reliable than assuming based on an older case or a friend’s experience.

Also Read:

• Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Asheville, NC
• Best DWI Lawyers in Asheville, NC

Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an attorney referral. It is not a ranked or sponsored list, and inclusion does not imply an endorsement by, or affiliation with, any named firm beyond what is stated. Attorney credentials, case results, and contact details change over time; confirm current information directly with each firm before making a hiring decision. Past results described here do not guarantee similar outcomes in any other case.