Top Criminal Defense Lawyers Near Me in Silver Spring Area

With over twenty years’ experience as a litigator Mary Paloger brings to East Coast Legal Group her expertise in family, criminal and immigration matters. When Ms. Paloger takes on a case, her clients reap the benefit of her considerable knowledge, experience and intense personal investment, as well as her ready sense of humor.. After receiving her degree from Binghamton University, Ms. Paloger attended Florida State University College of Law and started her career as an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, Florida. From humble beginnings she has built East Coast Legal Group into a law firm that prides itself on zealous representation combined with an understanding of real-life considerations. She is fully committed to representing her clients through all phases of litigation and creatively advising clients through mediation and settlement negotiations.. An ethical attorney will never promise results or a favorable outcome. However, what Mary Paloger can promise is an advocate who will stand by your side and fight for your rights.

Stephen D. Ruben, the son of Judge Leonard Ruben and Senator Ida Ruben, is a skilled, multi-practice attorney at the Law Offices of Ruben and Ruben. His career began at the Ellin & Baker law firm, where he focused on medical malpractice. He gained significant trial experience during this time and had his first courtroom appearance with his father presiding over the bench.After Ellin & Baker, Stephen continued his legal career in his own private practice. During his time, he practiced medical malpractice, criminal defense, and real estate transactions. He handled over 10,000 real estate transactions between 1995 and 2008 and opened a division of his practice that focused exclusively on these matters. At the Law Offices of Ruben and Ruben, Stephen practices bankruptcy, real estate law, medical malpractice, and criminal defense. Contact the firm today to request a consultation.

Robert Demirji is Principal Attorney at  the Law Offices of Gary H. Gerstenfield. Mr. Demirji is barred in Maryland and focuses his practice on serious criminal and traffic matters.. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Demirji graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law. During his time in law school, Mr. Demirji served as the Production Editor for the University of Baltimore Journal of International Law and was a Student Fellow for the Center for International and Comparative Law. Mr. Demirji earned his undergraduate degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice, and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.. Mr. Demirji has extensive knowledge in both criminal defense and traffic matters handling thousands of cases in the last eight years. Mr. Demirji is an amazingly effective and truly gifted litigator and advocate. There is no problem too great or dilemma too difficult that he cannot solve. But, what really distinguishes Mr. Demirji among the elite of trial lawyers is the warmth and compassion he brings in resolving the seemingly unsolvable legal issues that many his clients face.. Mr. Demirji is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, Maryland. He speaks fluent Arabic and is of Lebanese descent. In his spare time, he plays basketball, soccer, and enjoys outdoor activities.

Maryland lawyer Amal A. Betrand is a partner in the firm’s growing civil practice. She also concentrates on large criminal cases, including her key participation in a five-day jury trial in which her client was acquitted of all charges, even after a videotaped confession was shown to the jury (See article). In 2012 Maryland criminal lawyer Amal A. Bertrand helped a client achieve a dismissal of all murder and gun charges in front of a Prince Georges county jury. Read Washington post article. Ms. Bertrand graduated cum laude from American University’s Washington College of Law and previously clerked for the Honorable S. Michael Pincus in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County.. Ms. Bertrand is fluent in French and Arabic.. You can reach Amal at or by email at

Maryland criminal attorney Rand W. Lucey, a partner,  primarily handles criminal cases in the state of Maryland. He represents clients facing a variety of criminal and serious traffic charges everyday in both Circuit and District Courts in Maryland.. Mr. Lucey has tried two first degree murder cases before a jury. In 2010, Mr. Lucey convinced the highest court of Maryland to hear the appeal of an MVA case in which his client was denied the right to counsel. He went on to argue that case along with Mr. Jezic before the State’s highest court.. Criminal lawyer Rand Lucey also has a successful coram nobis and post-conviction practice, seeking relief for clients who are suffering immigration consequences or other collateral consequences of criminal convictions. In 2010, Mr. Lucey and Andrew Jezic convinced a Howard County Circuit Court Judge, in a coram nobis petition, to grant a new trial for their client who had pled guilty to killing her boyfriend in 1994.  Despite her confession, the Judge vacated her guilty plea and in 2013, the State dismissed all charges in the case.. Mr. Lucey recently obtained a complete acquittal from a Talbot County jury in a serious traffic case. He has previously obtained complete jury acquittals for multiple clients in serious felony cases.. Mr. Lucey is licensed to practice in both the state and federal courts in Maryland and is a member of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, Montgomery County Bar Association and Maryland State Bar Association.. Maryland criminal attorney Rand W.Lucey received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where he was a Faculty Merit Scholarship recipient. He earned his B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Lucey is a graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School and is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County.

Lauren Kollecas is a Maryland criminal defense and family law attorney. For her undergraduate eduation, Lauren attended the University of Maryland, College Park where she received her BA in Russian History in 2010. From there, she attended law school at Catholic University, graduating in 2013. Upon joining the Maryland Bar in December 2013, she worked for a small firm in Rockville before taking a position as a prosecutor for the great state of New Mexico in 2015. While out west, she prosecuted hundreds of cases with a wide variety of charges, including DWIs, assaults/batteries, drug offenses, and domestic violence. Upon moving back to Maryland in 2016, Lauren joined Azari Law. Since that time, she has handled myriad cases from divorce, custody, and child support to DWI/DUI, sex offenses, and first-degree murder.

Joshua Moses is a seasoned attorney with over 25 years of experience in law. Throughout his career, he has successfully represented clients in a wide range of legal matters, including civil disputes, family law negotiations, criminal defense, financial resolutions, injury claims, auto accidents, and immigration cases. Known for his unwavering commitment to securing favorable outcomes for his clients, Mr. Moses has built a reputation for his strategic approach to legal challenges. His track record of success has earned him recognition as a trusted advocate in the legal community. As a Certified Law Specialist, Mr. Moses continues to provide professional guidance and representation, ensuring that each client receives the highest level of legal support.

In 2022, 2023, and 2024, Superlawyers magazine voted Mr. Jezic as one the Top 10 Best Lawyers in all of Maryland (among 40,000 lawyers). Prior to entering private practice in 2003, DC criminal lawyer Andrew V. Jezic served as a Maryland prosecutor for nearly eight years. During his time as a prosecutor, Mr. Jezic prosecuted some of the most serious felony cases in Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties. Now as a Maryland & DC criminal defense attorney, Mr. Jezic aggressively represents defendants around the state and in Washington, D.C. facing such serious charges as murder, rape and armed robbery. He has handled over 140 jury trials in his career and 100 homicide cases.. Mr. Jezic has been selected to three of the most prestigious organizations for any trial lawyer, reflecting his reputation as one of the leading criminal defense attorneys in Maryland.  First, Mr. Jezic is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only group of the leading one percent of trial lawyers in each state.  Second, he is a member of the Trial Court Nominating Commission for Montgomery County, which is the final vetting organization for judicial candidates, passing a streamlined list on to the Governor.  Third, Mr. Jezic is a member of the Maryland State Bar’s Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, which drafts the final language of the official jury instructions given at the end of a criminal trial.. From 2011 to 2022 Mr Jezic was selected to the very exclusive list of best criminal attorneys by Washingtonian magazine . From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Jezic was selected as one of 100 best attorneys in all of Maryland by Super Lawyers. Mr. Jezic also has a perfect 10/10 rating on AVVO.. He is a co-author of the widely respected book, Maryland Law of Confessions, first published in 2003 by Thompson/West and now in its nineteenth edition. Mr. Jezic’s book has been cited or quoted in ten reported opinions by Maryland’s highest and intermediate appellate courts.. Mr. Jezic has won many acquittals and dismissals in high-profile cases. For a small sample of these success stories, please see the link to recent news. In 2010, Mr. Jezic argued two significant criminal cases before Maryland’s highest court. In 2011, the State’s highest Court, on the same day, reversed two other complex cases handled by Mr. Jezic at the trial level, thereby giving Mr. Jezic’s clients a new chance at freedom. The State’s highest Court reversed yet another of Jezic’s cases in 2011, giving his client a new trial in a murder case. Mr. Jezic argued another case before Maryland’s top Court in June, 2012.. In 2010, prosecutors in two separate jurisdictions dismissed the cases against Mr. Jezic’s clients, after the jury in each case had heard Mr. Jezic’s winning cross-examination of the complaining witnesses. Remarkably, yet again in 2012, prosecutors dismissed all murder charges on the third day of a jury trial in Prince Georges County, after the Jezic team’s vigorous investigation and opening defense.. In 2017 Mr. Jezic achieved success for a client in one of the highest profile cases in Montgomery County in decades - in the "Rockville High School Rape" case - guiding his client through a maelstrom of national media attention, including pejorative comments about his client from White House spokesman, Sean Spicer.  Contrary to all expectations and hype, all rape and sex offense charges against Mr. Jezic's client were completely dismissed (See article).. Mr. Jezic's most celebrated case is the successful defense of Gary James Smith, in the "Army-Ranger murder case" - another of the most high-profile cases in Montgomery County in the past several decades.  Mr. Smith was a Sergeant in the Army Rangers, having served in five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He was accused of murdering his fellow Army Ranger, a close friend and roommate in Gaithersburg.   After two lengthy trials, and two appellate reversals, Mr. Smith successfully ended his case with time served and unsupervised probation, eight years after the original arrest.  Mr. Smith now is a law clerk in the law offices of Jezic & Moyse, working on Mr. Jezic's various murder cases. (See many articles from 2006 to 2015, and see hour-long show about Gary Smith on Dr. Oz.).. In 2010 and 2011, Maryland & DC criminal attorney Andrew V. Jezic convinced judges in two separate cases to vacate his clients’ guilty pleas entered with another lawyer, whereby both clients would have been deported after serving lengthy prison sentences. In both cases, Mr. Jezic’s clients were eventually exonerated after jury trials and are now free of any threat of jail or deportation. In one of those cases in 2011, State v. Cuque, the jury acquitted Mr. Jezic’s client of all charges despite having viewed a videotaped confession by the client.. In 2014 Mr. Jezic was a featured speaker for the fourth year in a row at the Alan Goldstein criminal law lecture in Prince George’s County, the premier criminal law seminar for lawyers in Maryland. In 2010 Mr. Jezic was a featured speaker at the annual Law Day seminar in Montgomery County, and was asked to speak at a Cross-Examination Workshop for the Montgomery County Bar’s Criminal Law Section in October, 2008, as well as at the Office of the Public Defender’s state-wide Training Seminar in May, 2008.. Mr. Jezic was one of the featured presenters from 2006-2008 for “Back to Court Night,” a gathering of many of the Circuit and District Court judges and lawyers in Montgomery County. In 2001, he was a featured speaker at the annual convention for all Maryland prosecutors held in Ocean City. He has taught numerous seminars for detectives around the state including the criminal investigators school for the Maryland State Police. As a Maryland & dc criminal attorney Mr. Jezic has taught full semesters at the Law School of American University and also at Montgomery College.. He is the former co-Chair of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section. As Chair of the Maryland Hispanic Bar’s Judicial Interviewing Committee for eight years, he was responsible for interviewing all applicants in the state for any judicial vacancy, including the Court of Appeals, Maryland’s highest court. Mr. Jezic was appointed by two Governors from different parties in 2006 and 2007 to be one of five members to serve on the State Board of Elections in Annapolis.. Mr. Jezic is fluent in Spanish.. Please email Mr. Jezic at or call him in the office at.

Counsel of Record in over 2500 Bankruptcy cases in Maryland and DC. Supervisory counsel in hundreds or thousands more. Counsel of record in hundreds of civil, criminal and administrative cases before federal and state courts and agencies. Pro bono service through Montgomery County Bar and Bankruptcy Court. Served as Treasurer and outside counsel to the Gifted and Talented Learning Disabled Network. We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code. We are proud to have helped thousands of people in this way. Past cases are no guaranty of future outcomes.