Wanted: Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer

No, I’m not in trouble. But I could be someday, and it would be nice to know who to call.

Because I spend so much time on legal blogs, I know a few good lawyers, just not around here.

(Actually, I don’t know that they’re good—how could I really tell?—but they sound good, which is better than some. More importantly, they seem to respect each other’s skills, and they’d be better judges of legal skill than I am.)

So, if I’m ever arrested in New York City, my first call is Scott Greenfield. If I’m arested in Austin, Texas, I’m calling Jamie Spencer, but in Houston I’m calling Mark Bennett. In Connecticut, I’m calling Norm Pattis (Sorry Gideon, I don’t think they’d let me pick my own PD), and in the D.C. area, I’m calling Jon Katz. (Whether they’ll take my call is a different matter…)

But if I ever get arrested in Chicago, I haven’t got a clue who to call. For a traffic ticket, I could just pick at random, but for something a little more serious, I might want to make an effort to choose wisely.

How come there aren’t any good criminal blawgers in Chicago? A search of blogs on Technorati for “Chicago criminal defense attorney” yields two hits. The first is Anthony W. Hill, whose most recent entry on May 14 reads, in it’s entirety,

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[Update: The guy who’s setting it up emailed me to say that regular blogging will start soon.]

The other blog has apparently shut down.

Using a more general search on Technorati for “Chicago criminal defense lawyer” in any post, I get as the eighth result something titled “Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer” which clicks through eSyndiCat to the law offices of Denise M. Nalley:

One of Chicago’s most respected and experienced criminal defense attorneys, Denise M. Nalley, has earned a reputation for providing high quality and aggressive legal representation in Chicago and it’s surrounding suburbs. A former Cook County Prosecutor, who understands both sides of the law well, Denise is committed to providing her clients with an aggressive and effective criminal defense. Denise understands that it is of the utmost importance to vigorously protect her clients’ Constitutional rights.

No blog there.

More generally, if I do the search on Google, I just get hits for law firms, such as Michael J. Petro:

One of Chicago’s most respected criminal defense attorneys, Michael J. Petro, has earned a reputation for providing high quality, aggressive legal representation in Chicago and around the United States. Criminal defense attorney, Michael J. Petro, earned this reputation by providing his clients with the highest standards of diligence, knowledge and professional advice, and by steadfastly protecting his client’s constitutional rights.

No blog there either, but it reminds me of something I’ve read recently…

Next in the Google list is Norris and Callahan, whose motto is apparently “We Win Cases Other Criminal Defense Lawyers Said Were Impossible”:

One of our clients came to our firm after two other attorneys told him that his case could not be won. When he contacted our law firm, he had already pleaded guilty the charge and was about to serve a 12-year prison sentence with the Illinois Department of Corrections. We took on his case, vacated (withdrew) his guilty plea, and won a not-guilty verdict at trial.

Wow, I think I gotta get these guys! They win cases.

Still no blog, though. Don’t any Chicago defense lawyers write a blog?