The Nieves Law Firm

What The Nieves Law Firm does

The Nieves Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm headquartered in Oakland, California, founded in 2012 by Jo-Anna Nieves. It operates six offices across the Bay Area and Sacramento — Oakland, Fremont, San Jose, Stockton, Fairfield, and Sacramento — covering 14 Northern California counties, and is staffed by approximately 37 people including 9 named attorneys with nearly 100 years of combined legal experience. Its practice spans misdemeanor and felony criminal defense across DUI, drug crimes, domestic violence, sex crimes, violent crimes, weapons charges, theft and fraud, juvenile crimes, restraining order defense, and post-conviction relief including expungement under PC 1203.4 and motions to vacate under PC 1473.7 for non-citizen clients. The firm is led by Founding Attorney Jo-Anna Nieves, whose national media profile (ABC News, Court TV, Nancy Grace, Dr. Phil) and YouTube channel with 312,000+ subscribers drive inbound demand, and Managing Attorney Darryl Stallworth, a 32-year veteran former Alameda County Deputy District Attorney with 60+ jury trials including 25 murder trials.

The firm generates revenue through professional-service legal fees, with pricing that varies based on case complexity, charges faced, and whether matters proceed to trial. Free consultations serve as the entry point, with payment plans offered for client flexibility. Distribution is direct to consumer via phone, text, online contact forms, and physical office locations, with no reseller or marketplace channels. The go-to-market combines three complementary motions: a sales-led intake team and Client Engagement Attorney focused on converting inquiries into engagements; a community-led motion through Jo-Anna Nieves' leadership of the Alameda County Bar Association and Darryl Stallworth's involvement with the Charles Houston Bar Association and Black Pre-Law Society generating attorney-to-attorney referrals; and a content-led motion via 662 YouTube videos, blog content, location-specific SEO pages across all six cities, and a full Spanish-language website targeting the bilingual Bay Area market. The firm has earned Inc. 5000 recognition for two consecutive years, Law Firm 500 for five consecutive years, and multiple Expertise.com and Super Lawyers honors, serving as third-party credibility signals.

Technically, the firm operates as a traditional professional services business with no proprietary technology, platform, or software disclosed in source material. Its competitive positioning rests on attorney talent, courtroom credibility (particularly Stallworth's prosecutorial background), media-driven brand recognition, multi-county physical distribution, and operational infrastructure including an in-house investigator, dedicated intake team, Director of Operations, and bilingual service capacity. The firm is a privately held professional corporation (The Nieves Law Firm, APC), controlled by its founder, with no external investors, no parent company, and no acquisition activity identified.

Name

The Nieves Law Firm

Legal name

The Nieves Law Firm, APC

Website

https://thenieveslawfirm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Nieves Law Firm is a privately held criminal defense law firm founded in 2012 in Oakland, California, operating six offices across the Bay Area and Sacramento with nine attorneys serving individuals charged with felonies, misdemeanors, and immigration-related offenses throughout Northern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Criminal Defense Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Defense (BPAHAAAN)

Keywords

• Criminal defense law
• DUI defense
• Post-conviction relief
• Domestic violence defense
• Restraining order defense

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: The firm generates revenue through legal service fees charged to clients for criminal defense representation. Fees vary based on the complexity of the case, charges faced, and whether the case goes to trial. The firm offers payment plans for clients who need flexibility. Free consultations are offered to prospective clients as an entry point.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Nieves Law Firm provides fee-for-service criminal defense representation to individuals charged with criminal offenses across the California Bay Area and Sacramento region. Services span 16 practice areas including DUI, domestic violence, drug crimes, sex crimes, violent crimes, weapons charges, theft, juvenile crimes, felony and misdemeanor defense, restraining order defense, expungement, and post-conviction relief including motions to vacate under PC 1473.7 for non-citizen clients. Representation is delivered by a team of nine attorneys across six office locations, supported by investigators, intake coordinators, and legal assistants, with free initial consultations and payment plans offered to prospective clients.

Product overview

The Nieves Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm providing comprehensive legal services across the California Bay Area and Sacramento region. The firm operates as a single-service practice focused exclusively on criminal defense, offering representation across multiple practice areas including DUI defense, domestic violence, drug crimes, sex crimes, violent crimes, weapons charges, theft, juvenile crimes, restraining orders, and post-conviction relief. The firm also specializes in immigration-related criminal defense for non-citizens. Services are delivered through a team of 8 attorneys across six office locations, with additional support staff including investigators, legal assistants, and intake coordinators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Criminal Defense Comprehensive criminal defense representation for individuals facing misdemeanor and felony charges across all practice areas including DUI, drug crimes, violent crimes, sex crimes, and weapons charges.
• DUI Defense

Quantifiable outcome

• DUI Not Guilty & Dismissed — client charged with two DUIs, not guilty finding obtained at bench trial, DMV prevented from suspending license
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Avvo: Legal services marketplace and directory that competes for inbound lead generation alongside the firm's own marketing channels. Not a peer in service delivery but exerts pressure on client acquisition channels by aggregating criminal defense attorneys on a single consumer-facing platform.

Direct peers

• Law Office of Russell S. Babcock: Independent California criminal defense practice with similar trial-ready positioning and Bay Area footprint. Directly comparable mid-size team-based criminal defense firm operating in overlapping courthouses.
• Cliff & Robison Law Firm: Walnut Creek-based Bay Area criminal defense firm using a multi-attorney team model across multiple Bay Area courthouses. Closely comparable to Nieves on structure, geography (NorCal), and broad criminal defense coverage including DUI, drug crimes, and violent offenses.
• The Mattox Law Firm: Texas-based criminal defense firm built around a high-profile attorney with strong national TV media presence. Comparable to Nieves in the founder-driven media brand playbook and team-based trial-ready model, providing a useful template for whether/how the Nieves brand expands beyond NorCal.
• Kaine Law Group: Oakland-based criminal defense firm practicing throughout the Bay Area with a team-based model and similar intake-driven GTM. Directly comparable multi-attorney criminal defense practice operating in the same Alameda County courthouse footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Geragos & Geragos: Long-established California criminal defense firm with nationally prominent media presence and broad high-profile case practice. More of a broad incumbent than a direct competitor for general Bay Area criminal defense, but a relevant comparable on the media-driven criminal defense brand and California state-wide case selection.
• Shouse California Law Group: Statewide California criminal defense firm with offices across multiple regions, broader geographic reach than Nieves, and similar team-based delivery. Operates at larger scale (broader incumbent) but with overlapping practice areas and similar customer segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheNievesLawFirmAPC
• Xx.com/nieveslawfirm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Nieves Law Firm