Attorney Matt Hoffman of the HoffmanLaw Office knows the Lake County, Illinois criminal court system. He has amassed more than twenty-three years of experience working as either a prosecutor or as a criminal defense attorney in the Lake County traffic, DUI, juvenile, misdemeanor and felony courts. He brings more than six years of prior experience as a Lake County criminal court prosecutor to every case he defends today. He has handled hundreds of Lake County criminal cases in a wide range of subject areas. He has a strong record of both bench and jury trial experience. Notable cases he has handled have been reported on by the Lake County News Sun, the Daily Herald, and the Chicago Tribune.

As a former Lake County Assistant State's Attorney, originally Matt gained years of criminal court experience working in the major criminal divisions of the Lake County State's Attorney's Office. These divisions included the Traffic, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Felony Review, Juvenile, Felony Drug and General Felony Divisions. During his years working as a prosecutor, Matt learned how police and the prosecution go about building a criminal case. He gained firsthand knowledge of and received significant training in the techniques and tactics the prosecution employs to seek convictions. For years, he implemented these practices in the Lake County criminal courts. He became a respected and accomplished prosecutor in the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and took responsibility for a number of serious and high-profile cases.

The work ethic Matt applied to prosecution he brought with him to the defense. In 2005, Matt left the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and established the HoffmanLaw Office in Lake County, Illinois. It is the mission of the HoffmanLaw Office to provide exceptional and insightful criminal defense advocacy to those charged with crimes in the Lake County, Illinois courts.



Attorney Matt Hoffman of the HoffmanLaw Office believes in your success. Over many years, he has developed a specific style of legal advocacy set in place to pursue your success. This style is both deliberative and active, studious and aggressive, independent and client-collaborative. Matt emphasizes listening to you. He wants to know your version of the events that led to your criminal charges. He understands listening to you describe what happened helps him develop insight into solving the unique problems your case presents.

Matt brings a strong and lengthy record of experience to his work as a Lake County criminal defense attorney. This experience comes from the years he has spent working both sides of the criminal courtroom, first while prosecuting Lake County criminal cases and then in the many years since while defending them. This almost two decades of courtroom experience is a powerful asset. Yet, it comprises only one part of an overall larger skill set Matt will bring to resolving your Lake County criminal case.

Thoroughness

Matt believes a criminal defense attorney must be thorough and should leave no fact unexamined in criminal court. He knows making assumptions about the facts or the law can be hazardous to the defense case. So, he endeavors not to make them. He understands questioning the prosecution's purported evidence is mandatory. He thinks creating and exposing weaknesses in the prosecution's evidence is a basic function of a criminal defense lawyer. He embraces the idea that a defense attorney's work on a case simply does not end until the case is resolved. He holds that until there is resolution, the defense attorney must remain engaged in client advocacy and in pursuit of the best possible result.

Ingenuity

Matt believes it is the criminal defense attorney's job to create solutions. In working toward solutions, he pursues ingenuity. He understands taking over a criminal case requires the criminal defense attorney to engage in real world problem solving in a situation where the attorney's decisions can have a significant effect on a client's life. He respects that clients will benefit from or bear the impact of the attorney's decisions and strategic recommendations. For this reason especially, he works hard to identify the controlling issues in a case and to explore and devise creative and powerfully effective methods in addressing them. Matt has learned that an effective criminal defense attorney is a skilled decision maker and knows what battles to pick. Through years of experience, he has discovered that not every battle that may be fought must be fought in any given case. He has realized that fighting the correct battles and fighting them well is the pathway to criminal court success.

Commitment

Matt believes a criminal defense attorney must demonstrate commitment. He accepts that seeking solutions in a criminal court setting is an adversarial process. He understands that at the very heart of this process is conflict. He knows that, almost always, there will be a competing version of the facts, the prosecution's version and that of the defense. He acknowledges that it is rare that both sides reach complete and total agreement on the facts and issues of any given case. For this reason, he believes the criminal defense attorney must have the confidence and perseverance to advance the facts as he sees them. He has learned that oftentimes these efforts meet resistance, frequently from the prosecution and sometimes even from the presiding judge. Yet, he knows very well that it is the attorney's commitment to his version of the case, especially through adverse circumstances as they arise in court, that can make an enormous difference in the resolution of a client's case. Attorney Matt Hoffman of the HoffmanLaw Office works to adapt to changes in circumstances as the defense evolves, but also seeks to maintain a powerful commitment to client advocacy at all times.


Matt has learned that an effective criminal defense attorney is a skilled decision maker and knows what battles to pick . . . He has realized that fighting the correct battles and fighting them well is the pathway to criminal court success.

Office Location

25980 North Diamond Lake Road Suite 112

Mundelein Illinois 60060