When Charged With a Crime ®

For the third straight year, LOODPS has been recognized by Law Firm 500 as one of the fastest growing law firms in the United States. Earlier this month, on December 5, our Firm was recognized for attaining 274.5% growth over the course of the past 3 years. We are quite proud of our 30th place finish!

It is one thing to be able to grow a law firm in size and in revenue. But we are most proud of the high standards we have been able to maintain throughout the past few years of rapid growth. As a result, the Firm has been able to help more people regain control of their future during some of the more difficult times of their lives. 

We understand that being charged with a crime is often a harrowing experience. And finding the right criminal defense firm to represent you can be a daunting task. One recommended way, whether looking at our firm or another, is to see how a law firm, and its attorneys, are viewed by their peers. While many awards are “store bought” and “pay for play,” there are a handful of recognitions that are given out that are actually earned. One such title is to be recognized as a SuperLawyer. We are thrilled to announce that 100 % (all three) of our attorneys (David P. Shapiro, Stefano L. Molea, and Ally Keegan) all have been recognized as SuperLawyers for 2021, an accolade given to no more than 2.5% of eligible San Diego attorneys.

We offer this information to our readers, including our existing and prospective clients, so that they have independent information when searching for an attorney to represent them if they are under investigation for, or charged with, allegedly committing a crime. Additional information about the many accolades the Firm has earned over the years can be found here.

We’ve all heard warnings about being careful when you send emails; we’re told not to put anything in an email that we wouldn’t want made public. In this video, attorney Ally Keegan talks about the use of social media and other internet activity, and how this information is not as secure as you might think. Ally tells us that this warning should extend to all your internet activity. When you’re facing a criminal charge, or when you are being investigated for possible criminal activity, prosecutors and other law enforcement officers may seek to gain access to websites you have visited, text messages, and/or social media posts. This includes information you may have posted and subsequently deleted. It also includes messages on Snapchat, which most people assume go away after a few seconds. The fact is that these posts, website visits, messages, and of course emails, can be accessed by law enforcement, either through your device, the device of another person, or from the provider itself. Don’t be fooled into thinking that they just disappear.

When you meet with an attorney from our Firm concerning a pending or potential criminal charge against you, as part of our thorough case evaluation screening process, we will ask you about whether these types of messages and posts are out there. In doing so, we are not trying to invade your privacy. Rather, we want to know what might ultimately be accessible and used by law enforcement and/or the prosecutor in the criminal case against you. We urge you to assume that any of your internet activity, including messages, social media, and even web browsing will be available to law enforcement if they want it badly enough. The lesson, of course, is to be careful what you say and do on the internet!