Brian P. Berson has received the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell in both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards. He is also a Certified Specialist in Criminal Law by the State Bar of California.
Brian has been practicing criminal defense exclusively for over 25 years. He defends people accused of - or suspects in - everything from homicides to white collar crimes to DUIs and petty theft.
Brian has tried dozens of cases and most of his clients in those trials have been found not guilty of all charges. Brian's last eight out of ten trials have resulted in acquittals (not guilty verdicts) on all charges for his clients. Those cases included charges of: attempted murder, drug conspiracy and distribution with mandatory minimum prison terms if the clients had been convicted, false statements to a state agency, fraud, criminal threats, unlawful firearms, driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), criminal contempt of court, and disorderly conduct (court trial). Prior to those cases, Brian's jury trials, most of which resulted in acquittal of all charges, included money structuring, bank fraud, embezzlement, theft and various serious felony drug charges (usually with mandatory minimum penalties of 5 or 10 years if his clients had been convicted).
One of Brian's more recent trials involved two counts of attempted murder. The jury found his client not guilty of those charges, but guilty of the lesser included crimes of attempted voluntary manslaughter. At sentencing, Brian's client received probation, and was released from jail later the same day after serving approximately 14 1/2 months in jail. The best plea bargain that could have been obtained prior to the trial would have resulted in 7 years in state prison following a guilty plea to the two counts of attempted murder, as charged. Brian advised his client to reject that plea bargain and, as a result, he did not spend a day in prison. This was the only jury trial out of Brian's last nine that did not result in acquittal (not guilty) of all charges.
Brian's previous trials occurred in the following courts: San Francisco Federal District Court, Superior Court of San Francisco City and County, Superior Court of Marin County, Superior Court of San Joaquin County, Superior Court of Contra Costa County, federal district court in New Orleans and Superior Court of Orleans Parish, Louisiana.
He currently has cases in San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara counties as well as federal courts in San Francisco and Oakland.
Call Brian P. Berson at (415) 788-2707 for a free consultation.