01
You reach our team
Send the review or call. Our own team takes it, not an intake service, and the attorneys who will argue your case review it.
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyers
0+Years in practice
0+Cases defended
0/7Answered, day & night
0hrReply to reviews
Super Lawyers®Selected 2025Rising Stars 2017–2024
Avvo Rating10.0 — SuperbTop Score
State Bar of CaliforniaAdmittedIn Good Standing
15+ YearsIn Practice
LA County Superior CourtAll DistrictsTrial Ready
PracticeCriminal DefenseExclusively
Super Lawyers®Selected 2025Rising Stars 2017–2024
Avvo Rating10.0 — SuperbTop Score
State Bar of CaliforniaAdmittedIn Good Standing
15+ YearsIn Practice
LA County Superior CourtAll DistrictsTrial Ready
PracticeCriminal DefenseExclusively
15+ YearsIn Practice
LA County Superior CourtAll DistrictsTrial Ready
PracticeCriminal DefenseExclusively
Super Lawyers®Selected 2025Rising Stars 2017–2024
Avvo Rating10.0 — SuperbTop Score
State Bar of CaliforniaAdmittedIn Good Standing
15+ YearsIn Practice
LA County Superior CourtAll DistrictsTrial Ready
PracticeCriminal DefenseExclusively
Aaron P. McAllisterAttorney at Law · Los Angeles
Who you are hiring
One team. One standard. No hand-offs.
Our staff answer the phone, not an intake center. The lawyers who review your case are the ones who stand up in court, never an associate you have not met. Over 15 years experience in Los Angeles County courtrooms. Criminal defense exclusively.
- Admitted
- State Bar of California
- Courts
- Los Angeles County Superior Court — all districts
- Practice
- Criminal defense, exclusively — 15+ years
- Recognition
- Super Lawyers® 2025 · Rising Stars 2017–2024 · Avvo 10.0 · Over 300 5-star Google reviews
Our team
The people on your file.
Four people, and you will know all of them by name. There is no intake center between you and your representation.
Aaron P. McAllisterAttorney & Principal
15+ years in Los Angeles County courtrooms. Criminal defense exclusively. He reads every case review himself.
Admitted · State Bar of California
Bianca De La VegaSenior Attorney
Senior attorney handling criminal matters across Los Angeles County: early case assessment, motions, hearings, and trial preparation.
Admitted · State Bar of California
Ivy MinyowSenior Paralegal
Carries a file from intake through disposition. Helps with records, discovery and mitigation packages. She gathers and prepares key information to pursue a favorable outcome with the prosecutor and the courts.
Not a licensed California attorney; does not give legal advice
Tatenda MuoniParalegal · Office Admin
The first voice potential clients will hear to submit their case for free review. Gathers key details about backgrounds, upcoming court dates, and details of the incident. A calm, patient presence during a stressful time.
Paralegal · not a licensed California attorney; does not give legal advice
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Process
Four steps,complete discretion.
Cases differ. Our process is the same every time. From the first review to the last hearing, you know what is happening, why it is happening, and where you stand.
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Confidential review
We look at the charge, explain your exposure in plain words, and lay out every option, including the ones where you don't need a lawyer at all.
03
Defense strategy
We read the reports, body-cam, priors and procedure in full. You get the strategy and a flat fee in writing before anything is filed.
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Resolution
Motions, negotiation or trial, depending on what the record supports. We agree to nothing on your behalf until you've said yes.
Privileged from the first call
Attorney–client privilege attaches before you have hired anyone.
One team, start to finish
Once the retainer is signed, you aren't handed to an associate you've never met.
Nothing filed without you
Every position, plea and motion is explained and agreed first.
What we handle
Focused defense across the charges that matter most.
Whether it is prefile investigation or trial, we hold every matter to the same standard of care and plan it with the same rigor.
Practice / 01DUI Defense
A first offense and a fourth are different cases. We start with the stop itself and work two clocks at once: the criminal case, and the ten days you have to demand a DMV hearing.
VC 23152(a)VC 23152(b)DMV APS
DUI defense in detail →
Practice / 02Domestic Violence
These cases move quickly and reach past the courtroom into protective orders, housing, custody, firearms and immigration. Often the most useful work happens before anyone files a charge.
PC 273.5PC 243(e)(1)Prefile
Domestic violence in detail →
Practice / 03
Felonies & Violent Crimes
When a strike is possible, we treat the preliminary hearing as the first real chance to test whether the case should exist at all, and we prepare every felony as if it is going to trial.
PC 245(a)(1)PC 211Three Strikes
Felony defense in detail →
Practice / 04Drug Crimes & Theft
Prosecutors infer sale from things like scales, baggies, cash or messages, and an inference can be challenged. Where the facts allow it, diversion keeps the conviction off your record, so the case ends in a dismissal instead of a plea.
HS 11350PC 484 / 487PC 1000
Drugs & theft in detail →
Also handling
Drug CrimesPossession, sale, transportation — and the diversion that ends in dismissal
Theft, Fraud & PropertyShoplifting to embezzlement — where valuation and intent are fought
Sex OffensesDiscreet, early representation with registration exposure in view
Juvenile DefenseDelinquency court, diversion, and sealing a child’s record
Representative matters
Outcomes from the case files.
Recent case results for clients who retained our office at an early stage of the proceedings — drawn from the firm's published Avvo results. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Felony4 strikes · 10 felonies
No prison on a 21-year exposureProbation and community labor
Charged with four strikes and ten felonies and facing 21 years in state prison, the client left with no jail and no prison time — probation and community labor. June 2026.
↗Discuss your case
Domestic violenceD.A. reject
Felony DV rejected — no case filedOn the first scheduled court date
Four separate felony domestic-violence matters between December 2025 and July 2026 ended the same way: a mitigation package before the filing deputy, and the case rejected on the first scheduled court date.
↗Discuss your case
Felony · PC 422Preliminary hearing
Strike counts reduced to misdemeanorsAt the preliminary hearing — then diversion
Two felony criminal-threats counts — both strikes — reduced to misdemeanors at the preliminary hearing, with judicial diversion granted and dismissal in twelve months. March 2026.
↗Discuss your case
Judicial diversionPC 69 · 647 · 148(a)(1)
Every count into diversionAll charges to be dismissed in one year
Two matters in July 2026, six counts between them — judicial diversion granted on every count, with all charges to be dismissed in one year.
↗Discuss your case
Felony assaultD.A. reject
Felony assault rejectedOn the first scheduled court date
A felony assault case rejected by the District Attorney on the first scheduled court date — July 2026. A battery matter was likewise rejected pre-arraignment after a mitigation package.
↗Discuss your case
Theft & fraudPC 484(a) · WIC 10980
Theft case dismissedAnd a felony fraud case ended the same way
A misdemeanor theft case dismissed on completing a theft class and community service — and a felony welfare-fraud matter reduced to a misdemeanor, then dismissed. December 2025.
↗Discuss your case01 / 04
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One Team, One Goal: Protecting You
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Whatever the charge, met without judgment.
Most people who call have never been arrested before. The charge is rarely the whole of it: the job, the license, the visa and the family are usually what is actually at stake.
01First-time defendants
You have never been arrested, you do not know what an arraignment is, and you are frightened of losing a job over one night. Much of our work here is explaining the process before we argue anything, and a great deal of it ends without a conviction.
DiversionPC 1000Reduction
02Professionals & license-holders
Nurses, teachers, drivers, contractors, agents. The board consequence is often the real case, and it has to be defended alongside the criminal one, not discovered after the plea is entered.
Licensing exposurePC 17(b)Board defense
03People not yet charged
A detective has called, or an arrest was made and nothing has been filed. The decision still sits with the prosecutor. Prefile is the most valuable stage in a case and the one most often missed.
Prefile interventionPre-arrest counsel
04Non-citizens & visa holders
For a non-citizen, the plea that protects immigration status is not always the one with the shortest sentence, and people often mix the two up. We check every charge and plea for immigration consequences before anything is agreed.
Immigration-safe pleasPadilla advisement
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Client reviews, in their own words.
Drag, or use the arrowsAttorney McAllister goes above and beyond. It is clear he is very passionate about his work and getting justice and the most favorable outcome for his clients. I have hired him personally and referred him to family and friends.
Al — hired attorneyAvvo review · March 2025
Attorney McAllister exudes Professionalism and I felt as though I knew him personally starting on Day One. He listened intently and came up with a strategy to move forward and address our case.
Hired attorneyAvvo review · November 2024
Not only did he take me under his wing IMMEDIATELY and without hesitation after hearing my situation, he didn't judge me, he was quick, and was the 1st attorney out of dozens whom I called, that didn't interrupt me nor put me on the backburner.
Christian — hired attorneyAvvo review · November 2021
Aaron was outstanding in working with our family on a Juvenile issue. He helped us make a tough decision to choose a diversion program… and he was absolutely right in advising us to choose diversion. In the end our son and his friend were cleared of the accusations made against them.
A family — juvenile matterAvvo review · July 2019
You can tell Aaron cares about his clients and will fight tooth and nail to get the best result. He explores every avenue in a defense looking for motions to file to ultimately get the charges dismissed. I'm an attorney myself, Los Angeles native, and if any of my family members need help, I would trust them in Aaron's hands.
Givelle Lamano — criminal defense lawyerPeer endorsement · Avvo
This testimonial or endorsement does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Reviews excerpted from the firm’s public Avvo profile; the peer endorsement is by a fellow attorney, as published on Avvo.
DUIDomestic ViolenceFelony AssaultDrug OffensesTheft & FraudJuvenile DefensePrefile
DUIDomestic ViolenceFelony AssaultDrug OffensesTheft & FraudJuvenile DefensePrefile
Frequently asked
Common questions, honest answers.
What people really ask us at eleven at night, about cost, confidentiality and what comes next.
Don't see yours? Send us the question as you'd ask it. Our attorneys answer it themselves, free and in confidence.
Ask your question →→How much does the case review cost?
Nothing. The review is free and you're under no obligation. If your matter isn't one for this office, we'll tell you so directly and point you somewhere better when we can.
Is what I write in the form confidential?
Yes. We treat submissions as confidential, and only Aaron reads them.* Sending the form does not by itself create an attorney–client relationship; that starts when we agree on representation in writing.
I have not been charged yet. Is it too early?
No, it's the best time. Until a charge is filed, the decision is still the prosecutor's, and prefile work is often what separates a case that exists from one that never does.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within one business hour between 8am and 10pm, seven days a week. If you send a review overnight, it's the first thing we answer in the morning, and the 24/7 line is open for anything urgent.
Will Aaron handle my case, or an associate?
Aaron and Bianca. They handle every matter from start to finish, so the attorneys who review your case are the same attorneys who stand up in court.
What will my defense cost?
A flat fee, quoted in writing after the review, once we know the charge and where the case stands. Nobody will ask you to commit to a number before the file has been read.
The plain version: what the first month looks like, and the two deadlines that matter most.
6 min read
Read the article ↗
EPO, CPO, DVRO: what each order does, how they differ, and what you can actually change.
7 min read
Read the article ↗
Three Strikes in California: What Counts as a Strike — and What It Does to a Case
Felonies & Violent CrimesWhat California law counts as a strike, how the math works, and the three ways we fight one.
6 min read
Read the article ↗
Protect your position
The earliest advice is the most valuable.
Send your review to the Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister. An attorney reads it personally, usually within the hour. It's free, confidential, and you're not obliged to go further. *This point is being confirmed and may be updated.
- Who we defend
- People charged with a crime in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. We do not file lawsuits or represent victims.
- 24/7 line
- (310) 881-2786
- Reply time
- Within one business hour, 8am–10pm, seven days
- Courts
- Los Angeles County Superior Court — all districts
- Fees
- Flat, quoted in writing after the review
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