Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney

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If you have been accused of a California state crime or a federal crime, your defense should begin with the evidence, the law, and your priorities. Robert M. Helfend has worked in criminal defense in the Los Angeles area since 1984 and personally handles the firm’s cases.

The Helfend Law Group assists with investigations, pretrial motions, plea negotiations, and trial preparation. A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can explain the allegation, preserve useful evidence, and prepare a response before you make decisions that affect your rights. Call 800-834-6434 for a free initial consultation.

Robert Helfend’s Los Angeles criminal defense experience

Helfend’s career includes more than 4,000 criminal matters, according to the firm. That is a measure of experience, not a claim that every case ended in acquittal. His practice includes serious sex crimes, federal crimes, homicide, and other California criminal charges.

California State Bar records identify Robert M. Helfend, Bar number 113380, as admitted June 13, 1984. He earned his J.D. at Pepperdine in 1983 and his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in 1980. Documented Super Lawyers selections were for 2020–2023. See the attorney profile for further background.

Helfend is based in Malibu and represents clients in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California. For your consultation, identify the court and county, the next date, and whether the matter is a state investigation, federal investigation, or filed criminal case. Those details guide the immediate work.

Areas of criminal defense practice

The Helfend Law Group represents people accused of misdemeanors and major felonies in California state and federal court. These guides explain the governing law, potential consequences, and issues a criminal defense lawyer should examine with you.

Sex crimes and disputed sexual allegations

A sex crime accusation can affect liberty, employment, and reputation before a verdict. A defense must identify the precise offense, assess the complete communications and statements, and consider any registration consequence separately. Sex crime defense includes allegations involving adults, children, online activity, and commercial sex.

Rape and California consent laws: offense-specific consent, capacity, force, and age issues.
Chat Room Crimes: communications, authorship, age representations, and the alleged acts.
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child and Lewd Acts With a Minor: the specific conduct, age requirements, and available evidence.
Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and registration rules: the actual duty, notice, timing, and petition requirements.
Habitual sex offender sentencing: qualifying current and prior convictions, rather than a general label.
Indecent Exposure and Lewd Acts in Public: intent, location, and the surrounding circumstances.
Oral Copulation by Force or Fear and Oral Copulation with a Minor: statute-specific elements and sentencing.
Pimping, pandering, and human trafficking, minor-solicitation allegations, and Solicitation of a Prostitute: distinguish the alleged role and offense.
Revenge porn and privacy offenses and sexual battery: publication, privacy, contact, and intent requirements.
False accusations: preserving evidence and testing the allegation without contacting or pressuring witnesses.

Federal crimes and white collar defense

A federal investigation may involve subpoenas, grand jury proceedings, search warrants, interviews, and digital records. Counsel should distinguish your status in the investigation from a filed charge and review the applicable federal criminal law. The federal defense guide explains those stages.

Arrest Warrants, target letters, and federal indictments: identify the document, its requirements, and the immediate response.
Drug conspiracy and Drug Trafficking: test agreement, role, substance, quantity, and any statutory sentencing minimum.
Wire and bank fraud, Securities Fraud, Honest Services Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, Social Security Fraud, and PPP Loan Fraud: identify the alleged misrepresentation, intent, and transaction.
Cryptocurrencies, Identity Theft, Insider Trading, and Trade Secret Theft: examine the conduct and statute rather than assume an unfamiliar technology is unlawful.
Misappropriation of Funds, money laundering, racketeering and conspiracy, and sextortion: separate each count’s elements and evidence.
Federal sentencing minimums and Federal Prison Sentence Reduction: assess current rules, relief criteria, and the procedural route.

A statutory minimum is not always unavoidable. Qualifying safety-valve relief or a government substantial-assistance motion may matter in an eligible federal case. Relief depends on the statute and requirements; it should never be promised before reviewing the charge and record.

Murder, manslaughter, and violent offenses

Homicide allegations demand careful review of intent, causation, participation, and the claimed justification. California distinguishes murder from manslaughter; malice is not limited to premeditation. Murder and homicide defense includes Felony Murder, Accessory to Murder, Voluntary Manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and vehicular manslaughter.

Helping someone after a felony can involve accessory liability; aiding a killing before or during it is a different theory. A felony-murder allegation also requires more than simply establishing that a death occurred during a felony. A criminal defense attorney should explain the applicable theory and evidence of your own role.

Other practice areas include assault, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and carjacking, and domestic violence. Injury, weapon, prior-conviction, and protective-order allegations can create separate issues. The defense should examine both the underlying count and any enhancement.

Drug, firearm, theft, and other California charges

For drug cases, distinguish possession from sales, transportation for sale, manufacturing, and conspiracy. Quantity can be evidence, but it is not a substitute for proving every element. The drug crimes guide and pages on methamphetamine and prescription drugs address those distinctions and current eligibility questions.

Firearm defense requires reviewing the weapon, possession theory, location, criminal history, and search authority. Federal prohibited-person charges have their own requirements and penalties; the basic current maximum under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8) for a 922(g) violation is 15 years, subject to separate qualifying enhancements.

For burglary, theft, vehicle theft, credit card fraud, and automotive and insurance fraud, the defense must test entry, ownership, value, intent, and the particular transaction. Kidnapping and extortion also require distinct elements; they should not be inferred from a dispute alone.

Young people and families should review the juvenile defense guide. Current juvenile procedure differs from adult criminal court, including interrogation protections and the process for any requested transfer to adult court.

What a criminal defense lawyer does at each stage

During an investigation

Preserve complete messages, documents, recordings, and witness information. Discuss any police request or subpoena with counsel promptly. Do not delete evidence, create a statement for someone else, or contact a witness to demand a change. Your criminal defense attorney can assess what must be answered and how to protect your rights.

Early investigation can include obtaining records beyond the first police report, examining identification, and evaluating search authority. A useful defense question is what investigators collected, what they omitted, and whether a summary accurately reflects the original source.

After criminal charges are filed

Review the charging document, release conditions, discovery, and upcoming hearings. The court process may include arraignment, a preliminary hearing in a felony matter, motions, negotiation, and trial. State and federal criminal procedure differ, so the strategy must fit the actual court and charge.

Work with your defense attorney to identify evidence that may be lost, people an investigator should contact, and any issue requiring a specialist. Keep protective orders and deadlines visible. A disputed accusation does not excuse an order violation or a missed appearance.

Negotiation and trial preparation

A plea assessment should address the factual basis, sentencing range, registration, prior-conviction effects, and other material consequences. Compare the proposal with available defenses and the evidence. Your lawyer should explain risks and alternatives so you can make an informed decision.

Trial preparation includes admissibility issues, witness examination, exhibits, expert needs, and jury selection. The prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A criminal defense lawyer’s role is to test that proof and present the defense within the applicable rules.

If a search is challenged, exclusion of evidence and dismissal are separate questions. If a witness changes an account, the prosecutor may still consider other evidence. Clear advice should explain what a development changes and what remains to be established.

A 2024 murder trial involving defense of self and family

In a September 2024 firm-reported case, Helfend represented a client charged with murder, shooting at an inhabited vehicle, and negligent discharge of a firearm. After a two-week jury trial, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts. The firm reports that the defense concerned protection of the client and his family.

The result illustrates trial work across the homicide count and related firearm allegations. It does not establish that using deadly force is lawful whenever someone feels threatened. For deadly-force self-defense, CALCRIM 505 generally requires a reasonable belief in imminent death or great bodily injury or the specified forcible crime, a reasonable belief that immediate deadly force was necessary, and no more force than reasonably necessary. Other issues can depend on the evidence. Past results do not predict another outcome.

Preparing a Los Angeles criminal defense consultation

Bring the charging papers or investigative notice, the case number, hearing dates, and release or protective orders. Include search receipts, relevant correspondence, and a brief chronology. Keep original messages and files, even when some material is unfavorable; your attorney needs the complete record to advise you accurately.

Discuss the evidence you believe is missing or misunderstood. Identify witnesses by name and what each may know, rather than asking them to agree on a story. Note any video, employment record, or account data that could disappear unless promptly preserved.

Ask who will handle the criminal case, what work is included in the fee, how you will receive updates, and what decisions require your participation. The Helfend Law Group states that Robert Helfend personally handles its cases. A consultation should still clarify the scope of representation and any separate proceeding requiring other counsel.

Tell the lawyer about employment, professional licensing, immigration, custody, or military obligations. A proposed disposition may affect those matters even when the immediate custody term is limited. Identifying them early allows advice to be coordinated before a plea or important statement.

Call 800-834-6434 to arrange a free initial consultation with the Helfend Law Group. If a court date or response deadline is approaching, provide that date when you contact the office.

Immediate concerns in a Los Angeles County criminal case

If you or a family member is in custody, identify the booking location, charges, case number if available, and any stated appearance date. A criminal defense attorney can assess release, the need for a court appearance, and the documents needed to prepare. Release and dismissal are separate decisions.

California’s Penal Code 825 generally requires an arrested person to be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays, with additional scheduling provisions. It is not a rule excluding every day the court is closed. Our arraignment guide explains the first appearance.

Bail and other release conditions require a case-specific assessment. Counsel should consider the court’s authority, financial circumstances, public-safety concerns, and available alternatives. Avoid assuming that a bail schedule is the entire analysis or that posting bail ends the case. See the bail guide for the issues to discuss.

Keep the written terms of any order. A Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer needs to know about stay-away conditions, reporting requirements, travel restrictions, and a pending warrant. Promptly report an approaching deadline or unexpected law-enforcement contact to counsel.

State and federal cases require different advice

A California prosecution and a federal prosecution can involve similar alleged conduct while using different statutes, charging procedures, evidence rules, and sentencing systems. Identify the agency, prosecutor, court, and document before choosing a response. A state disposition does not automatically resolve a separate federal matter.

A federal target letter is different from an indictment; a subpoena is different from an arrest warrant. A criminal defense attorney should explain what the document requires, whether a deadline applies, and how counsel will communicate with the relevant authority. Do not assume that an invitation to talk is merely informal because charges have not yet been filed.

After a resolution, discuss any available dismissal, sealing, probation relief, or sentence-review procedure. Eligibility depends on the offense, record, disposition, and statute. The firm’s record-relief guide explains why relief is not the same as erasing every consequence of a conviction.

Civilian criminal defense for military service members

A civilian criminal case can affect a service member’s career, clearance, and military obligations. State, federal, and military proceedings have different jurisdiction and counsel rules. Identify each pending matter rather than assume that one proceeding resolves every consequence.

The Helfend Law Group represents service members facing civilian criminal charges. Bring your charging papers, command notices, duty schedule, and any military legal advice to the consultation. Coordinate civilian defense with appropriately qualified military counsel when military proceedings or command action are involved.

Case evaluation, evidence review, trial preparation, and communication remain essential in civilian court. Ask which lawyer is responsible for each proceeding, what must be reported, and how statements or a plea in one setting could affect the other.

Frequently asked questions

Should I hire a criminal defense attorney before charges are filed?

Early advice can help preserve evidence, manage investigative contact, and assess any prefiling response. It does not guarantee that prosecutors will decline charges. Seek advice before answering investigative questions or providing account access.

Does Robert M. Helfend handle state and federal criminal cases?

Yes. His practice includes California state criminal defense and federal criminal matters. The applicable court, charging procedure, and sentencing rules must be reviewed for the particular case.

Does a lack of physical evidence mean the case will be dismissed?

No. Testimony and circumstantial evidence may support a charge. A defense lawyer should examine whether the complete admissible evidence proves each required element and whether motions or other challenges are available.

What should I bring to a free initial consultation?

Bring charging papers, court dates, release or protective orders, search documents, and a chronology of relevant events. Preserve original messages and records. Also identify potential witnesses and any employment, licensing, immigration, or military concern.

Discuss your case with Robert M. Helfend

Robert M. Helfend has practiced criminal defense since 1984. To discuss the allegations, the evidence, and your options, call the Helfend Law Group at 800-834-6434 for a free initial consultation.

References

Sources reviewed October 6, 2026.

★★★★★

"Expertise Is Invaluable"

Robert's expertise is invaluable. He is very professional and always stays in touch to make sure you are updated on any developments. Highly recommended

Lorelei J. (from Google)