This guide covers 10 New Jersey criminal defense firms, from boutique federal white collar practices to full-service firms that handle municipal court matters, DWI, and serious indictable charges in Superior Court. Each firm was evaluated on attorney credentials (including New Jersey Supreme Court trial certification and former prosecutor experience), depth of criminal trial experience, whether criminal defense is a dedicated practice or one area among many, and the courts where its attorneys regularly appear.
When comparing New Jersey defense lawyers, three questions do most of the work. Does the attorney regularly appear in the court that will hear your case, whether that is a municipal court, the Superior Court in your county, or the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey? Does the lawyer have first-hand knowledge of how prosecutors build the type of case you face, such as a former prosecutor on staff or a long record of trying that charge to verdict? And does the firm handle the parallel processes that follow a charge, such as pretrial release hearings, diversion applications, and motor vehicle consequences? This list is not ranked and is not sponsored. Firm details come from each firm’s own website, and ratings or awards are cited only where a specific directory, such as Super Lawyers, Avvo, or Best Lawyers, publishes them.
1. Law Offices of Timothy R. Anderson, LLC
- Attorney/Key Figure: Tim Anderson, Criminal Defense Attorney
- Headquarters: 101 Crawfords Corner Road, Suite 4116, Holmdel, NJ 07733
- Phone: 732-212-2812
- Website: timandersonlaw.com
- Practice Areas: Federal criminal defense, white collar crime, bank fraud, cyber crimes, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, wire and mail fraud
- Firm Size: Boutique firm, with more than 30 years of experience defending individuals and businesses
- Practice Area Page: Federal criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook, X, Avvo, Super Lawyers
Tim Anderson founded his firm after more than three decades of defending individuals and businesses against serious federal and state charges, with a concentration on white collar matters. His work spans the fraud statutes that drive most federal prosecutions, including bank, mortgage, securities, tax, wire, and mail fraud, along with cyber crime and health care fraud investigations. He has been selected for Super Lawyers, including in 2025, and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
The firm’s value is its focus. A single attorney with a long track record in federal fraud defense handles each matter personally, which suits clients facing a government investigation who want one experienced lawyer shaping strategy from the first subpoena or target letter onward.
2. LGR Law Group
- Attorney/Key Figure: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo, Esq., Head of LGR Law
- Headquarters: 6 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 (additional office: 347 5th Avenue, Suite 1402, New York, NY 10016)
- Phone: 973-239-4300
- Website: lgaulirufo.com
- Practice Areas: Federal criminal defense, white collar crimes, cyber crimes, bank, credit card, cryptocurrency, mortgage, securities, and wire fraud, RICO, child pornography, tax fraud, health care fraud
- Firm Size: Boutique firm, with more than 30 years of trial, plea, sentencing, and appellate experience
- Practice Area Page: Federal criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram, YouTube, Avvo
Lorraine Gauli-Rufo is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney and has handled well over 1,000 criminal cases, including many jury trials. She appears in federal courts in New Jersey and in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, which matters for defendants whose conduct crosses the Hudson River.
What distinguishes the firm is the combination of state certification and federal reach. A Cedar Grove base with a Manhattan office lets the firm cover grand jury investigations, cryptocurrency and securities fraud, and RICO cases in both states, and her experience carries through trial, plea negotiation, sentencing, and appeal.
3. Michael Rosas Law PC
- Attorney/Key Figure: Michael Robert Rosas, Attorney
- Headquarters: 1 Tower Center Boulevard, Suite 1510, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 (additional office: 1492 Victory Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10314, by appointment)
- Phone: (732) 795-9027
- Website: michaelrosaslaw.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense in state and federal court, DWI and DUI, homicide, violent crimes, white collar crime, drug crimes, sex crimes, weapons offenses, internet crimes, domestic violence, traffic offenses
- Firm Size: Boutique firm, with more than 15 years of experience
- Practice Area Page: New Jersey criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook
- Google Rating: 4.9 ★★★★★ (36 reviews) –  View on Google
Michael Rosas is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney and has tried federal and state matters to verdict, with cases ranging from DWI to murder. His practice is criminal defense only, and it covers Monmouth and Somerset Counties as well as statewide matters in New Jersey and New York.
The range of charges he has taken to trial is the firm’s practical advantage. A client facing a first DWI and a client facing a homicide indictment can both work with an attorney who has tried that level of case, and the East Brunswick office sits in the middle of the state, close to Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset County courthouses.
4. The Montanari Law Group
- Attorney/Key Figure: Michael J. Montanari, Partner
- Headquarters: One Lower Notch Road, Little Falls, NJ 07424
- Phone: 973-785-8181
- Website: ddsmlaw.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense (assault, disorderly persons offenses, drug crimes, expungements, juvenile offenses, sex crimes, theft and fraud, weapons charges, carjacking, assault by auto, DWI and reckless driving), family law, employment law, personal injury, workers’ compensation, real estate, wills and estates
- Firm Size: Small boutique-style firm with a partner and two associates
- Practice Area Page: Passaic County criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn
Michael Montanari is a partner at the firm and has been recognized by Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars. His criminal defense work covers the full ladder of New Jersey charges, from disorderly persons offenses and traffic matters up through weapons charges, carjacking, and sex crimes, and the firm also handles expungements and juvenile cases.
The firm serves Passaic, Essex, and Bergen Counties from a single Little Falls office, which makes it a local option for clients in northern New Jersey. Because the firm also handles related family, employment, and injury matters, a criminal charge that touches a restraining order, a job, or a civil claim can be coordinated under one roof.
5. Wronko & Loewen
- Attorney/Key Figure: James R. Wronko, Attorney
- Headquarters: 69 Grove Street, Somerville, NJ 08876
- Phone: (908) 704-9200
- Website: newjerseylawyer.org
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense (murder, sex crimes, domestic violence, drug possession, gun crimes, juvenile crimes, child pornography), DWI, white collar and financial crimes, appeals, expungement, sexual harassment, civil litigation, personal injury, family law, real estate, bankruptcy
- Firm Size: Four-attorney firm, founded in 1994
- Practice Area Page: Somerville criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube
James Wronko has more than 40 years as a trial attorney and has tried more than 200 civil and criminal jury cases to verdict since the firm opened in 1994. He was named a New Jersey Super Lawyer in 2006 and has been listed every year since. The firm’s criminal practice includes dedicated pages for murder, sex crimes, gun crimes, drug possession, juvenile matters, and child pornography defense.
The firm describes its approach as large-firm trial experience with small-firm client service, and the jury trial record backs that up. It works statewide from Somerville, the Somerset County seat, and its appellate practice gives clients a path forward if a trial does not go their way.
6. Weisberg & Klauber, LLC
- Attorney/Key Figure: Adam Jon Weisberg, Attorney (criminal law and municipal matters)
- Headquarters: 1500 Allaire Avenue, Suite 101, Ocean Township, NJ 07712 (additional office: 142 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901)
- Phone: 732-517-1199
- Website: wklawgroup.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense (DWI and DUI, drug offenses, sex crimes, traffic offenses, probation violations, assault, theft, weapons, expungement), divorce and family law, personal injury, workers’ compensation, real estate, guardianships
- Firm Size: Small firm with more than 20 years of experience
- Practice Area Page: Ocean Township criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook
Adam Weisberg has been admitted in New Jersey and New York since 1989 and in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey since the same year. His criminal and municipal court practice is backed by active roles in the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, the Criminal Section of the Middlesex County Bar Association, and the Municipal Court Committee of the Monmouth County Bar Association. He chairs the Criminal Section of the Haydn Proctor Inns of Court, sits on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Megan’s Law Sub-Committee, and is a member of the National College for DUI Defense.
Those affiliations point to the firm’s sweet spot: municipal court, DWI, and traffic defense across Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean Counties, with offices on the Jersey Shore and in New Brunswick. The firm also handles drug, sex crime, and probation violation cases.
7. Law Offices of Jared B. Weiss
- Attorney/Key Figure: Jared B. Weiss, Attorney
- Headquarters: 1136 Route 22, Suite 202, Mountainside, NJ 07092
- Phone: (908) 798-4321
- Website: jw-law.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense, DWI, traffic tickets, domestic violence defense, felony and drug crimes, gun crimes, assault, theft, expungements
- Firm Size: Solo practice with nearly 20 years of experience
- Practice Area Page: Union County criminal defense, Gun crimes, Elizabeth criminal defense
- Social Profiles: LinkedIn
Jared Weiss is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a municipal court trial attorney, a credential that speaks directly to the DWI, traffic, and disorderly persons cases that fill New Jersey’s municipal dockets. His professional roles reflect the same focus: he serves on the Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Practice, the Union County Criminal Practice Committee, and the Union County Domestic Violence Working Group, and he is an officer of the Union County Bar Association. He is also a member of ACDL-NJ and NACDL and served as an investigator for the District XII Ethics Committee from 2016 to 2024.
The firm practices exclusively in criminal defense and serves Union County from Mountainside, with a dedicated page for Elizabeth. That committee work gives him a working view of how municipal court rules are written and applied.
8. Stahl Gasiorowski Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Attorney/Key Figure: Robert G. Stahl and Laura K. Gasiorowski, Partners
- Headquarters: 200 Sheffield Street #212, Mountainside, NJ 07092 (additional office: 52 Duane Street, New York, NY 10007)
- Phone: 908-301-9001 (NJ), 212-755-3300 (NY)
- Website: stahlesq.com
- Practice Areas: White collar criminal defense, general criminal defense, government investigations, appellate practice
- Firm Size: Dedicated criminal defense boutique with more than 30 years of experience
- Practice Area Page: Criminal law
- Social Profiles: LinkedIn, X, YouTube
Robert Stahl is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey who began his career in law enforcement, reports 35 years of experience, and is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Laura Gasiorowski reports more than 30 years of criminal defense experience in New York and New Jersey, serves as Vice President of ACDL-NJ, sits on the CJA Panel, and has handled death penalty cases. Andrew Olesnycky is a certified criminal trial attorney at the firm. Stahl was named Best Lawyers’ White-Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year for 2022, and the firm holds a Tier 1 Best Law Firms ranking, Super Lawyers recognition, and a Chambers USA Band 3 ranking for white collar crime and government investigations.
Having a former federal prosecutor on the defense side is a real advantage in government investigations. The trade-off is fit: the firm’s recognitions center on white collar and federal matters, so it is built for high-stakes cases more than routine municipal court matters.
9. The Tormey Law Firm
- Attorney/Key Figure: Travis J. Tormey, Esq., Criminal Defense Attorney
- Headquarters: 254 State Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 (additional offices across New Jersey, including Morristown, Newark, New Brunswick, and Middletown)
- Phone: (201) 556-1570
- Website: criminallawyerinnj.com
- Practice Areas: DWI and DUI (including Alcotest challenges and refusal charges), traffic violations, drug charges, assault and threats, theft and fraud, weapons offenses, sex crimes, domestic violence and restraining orders, juvenile charges, expungements, diversionary programs, white collar crimes
- Firm Size: Multi-office team of attorneys
- Practice Area Page: Charge types
- Social Profiles: Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Avvo
Travis Tormey is a trial lawyer and a Certified Alcotest 7110 DWI Defense Lawyer, a credential tied to the breath-testing device used in New Jersey DWI cases. The firm’s team includes former county prosecutors who handled weapons cases for the State, and the firm reports a 10.0 Avvo rating and the Avvo Client’s Choice Award every year from 2012 onward, with 125 Avvo reviews.
The firm’s reach across northern and central New Jersey, along with its defined pages for diversionary programs such as Pretrial Intervention and conditional discharge, make it a practical choice for clients who need a nearby office. As with most multi-office firms, clients should expect to work with the wider team rather than only with the named founder.
10. The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall
- Attorney/Key Figure: Jonathan F. Marshall, Firm Namesake
- Headquarters: 82 Court Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 (additional offices in Camden, Clifton, Cranford, Edison, Elizabeth, Fort Lee, Middletown, Jersey City, Mays Landing, Mount Holly, Newark, New Brunswick, Somerville, Toms River, Trenton, Wayne, and Woodbury)
- Phone: 732-450-8300 (Freehold), 855-450-8310 (toll free)
- Website: newjerseycriminallawattorney.com
- Practice Areas: Drug crimes, DWI and DUI, assault and violent crimes, guns and weapons offenses, sex crimes, juvenile defense, property crimes, federal crimes, white collar crimes, theft and shoplifting
- Firm Size: Large firm, with approximately 20 lawyers devoted to criminal defense and more than 200 years of combined experience
- Practice Area Page: Hackensack criminal defense
- Social Profiles: Facebook, X, YouTube, Avvo
The firm’s attorneys include former municipal prosecutors who served in more than 20 towns and former county prosecutors from the Major Crimes, Special Victims, Domestic Violence, Juvenile, and Trial divisions. It lists memberships in ACDL-NJ, the New Jersey State Bar, the New Jersey Association for Justice, and the National College for DUI Defense, and reports a 4.9 out of 5 rating across more than 500 Google reviews.
With offices spread from Mays Landing to Fort Lee, this is the most geographically extensive criminal defense firm on the list, and its bench of former prosecutors is deep. The trade-off of a roughly 20-lawyer firm is that clients have less guaranteed direct access to one named attorney than at a solo or boutique practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does New Jersey classify criminal charges?
New Jersey does not use the words felony and misdemeanor. Serious offenses are called indictable crimes and graded from first degree (the most serious, with a presumptive range of 10 to 20 years) down to fourth degree (up to 18 months). Lesser offenses are disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses, which carry up to six months and up to 30 days in jail respectively. The grade of the charge determines the court, the sentencing exposure, and the strategy, which is why a firm like Wronko & Loewen, with dedicated pages for murder and sex crime defense, approaches a first-degree indictment very differently from a municipal matter.
What is the difference between municipal court and Superior Court in New Jersey?
Municipal courts handle disorderly persons offenses, traffic violations, and DWI, and there is no jury in those proceedings. Indictable crimes go to the Superior Court, Criminal Division, after a grand jury presentment or an indictment waiver. Attorneys who focus on the municipal docket, such as Jared B. Weiss, who is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a municipal court trial attorney, tend to know local prosecutors and judges well, while indictable cases call for deep Superior Court trial experience.
What does “certified criminal trial attorney” mean in New Jersey?
It is a designation granted by the Supreme Court of New Jersey after an attorney demonstrates substantial criminal trial experience, supplies references from judges and lawyers, and passes an examination. Only a small share of the bar holds it. Among the firms on this list, Lorraine Gauli-Rufo of LGR Law Group and Michael Rosas of Michael Rosas Law PC are certified criminal trial attorneys, and Andrew Olesnycky of Stahl Gasiorowski holds the same certification.
How does bail work after an arrest in New Jersey?
Under the Criminal Justice Reform Act, which took effect in 2017, New Jersey largely replaced cash bail with a risk-based system. Most defendants are released on conditions, while prosecutors can move for pretrial detention in more serious cases, and a detention hearing is held within a short window after arrest. A lawyer can argue release conditions at that hearing, and firms with former prosecutors on staff, such as The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, bring a view of how the State frames those motions.
Can a New Jersey criminal charge be dismissed or diverted without a conviction?
Often, yes. Pretrial Intervention (PTI) is a diversion program for eligible first-time and low-level defendants, and conditional discharge is available for certain drug offenses. Both can lead to dismissal after a supervision period. Charges that do end in a conviction can sometimes be cleared later through expungement, a process several firms here, including The Tormey Law Firm and Weisberg & Klauber, handle directly.
Should I hire a solo attorney, a boutique, or a larger firm?
It depends on the charge and how much personal attention you want. A solo practice or small boutique, such as Law Offices of Timothy R. Anderson, means the lawyer you meet is the lawyer who tries your case, which suits a federal fraud investigation. A larger firm like The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall offers more offices and a deeper bench for clients who need a nearby location or a team on a complex case. Match the firm’s trial record and court familiarity to your charge first, then weigh size and location.
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.
