Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Charlotte, NC

As a founding member of North Carolina law firm Arnold & Smith, PLLC, J. Bradley "Brad" Smith is dedicated to protecting the rights of those accused of crimes. He handles a wide variety of criminal defense cases, including DWI/DUI, felonies and misdemeanors on both the state and federal level. He also handles personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights and police misconduct cases in the Charlotte area.

As a former prosecutor for the Mecklenburg County district attorney's office, Mr. Smith has an invaluable insight into both sides of the courtroom, which has enabled him to build solid defenses for difficult cases that few attorneys in the area can achieve. His reputation has given him the frequent opportunity to provide legal insight for television news media on breaking stories.

After graduating from North Carolina State University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, Mr. Smith earned his Juris Doctor from Mercer University in 2004, where he served as president of the Federalist Society and graduated on the dean's list. He is also a graduate of the distinguished National Trial Advocacy program from the National Advocacy Center. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina and before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

Mr. Smith has a rating of AV-Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been recognized as a "Top 40 under 40" lawyer and one of the top 100 trial lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers. He is an active member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the North Carolina Bar Association.

*AV-Preeminent and BV-Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.