38 trials to verdict. Over a decade protecting the rights of the accused. Never once a prosecutor.
If you have been arrested, charged, or are under investigation, what happens in the next few days can determine the rest of your life.
Evidence can be lost—or preserved.
Confessions can be taken—or prevented.
Charges can be filed—or never pursued.
The government has already begun building its case against you.
You need someone building yours.
Alvarez Nguyen Law APC focuses exclusively on criminal defense—and nothing else.
EXPERIENCE
Eleven years. 38 trials to verdict. Zero days spent working for the other side.
David Alvarez Nguyen began his first jury trial on his second day practicing law. His client was charged with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon, domestic battery with injury, and related charges. At the end of the trial, the jury acquitted David's client on all charges. Nine counts. Seven lesser included offenses. Sixteen not guilty verdicts in a single afternoon.
He has been trying cases ever since.
David spent the majority of his career at the San Diego County Alternate Public Defender's office — the office that takes cases the primary Public Defender cannot. Conflict cases. Multi-defendant cases. Gang cases. Cases where there are three, four, five defendants in the same courtroom – where everyone's lawyer has a different theory, and the prosecution is trying to turn your co-defendant into its star witness.
That is not ordinary criminal defense. It is the hardest version of it. It is where you learn to cross-examine a cooperator, to fight a gang expert, to try a case where the evidence against your client is half police work and half someone else's self-interest.
This is where David built his reputation.
Over more than a decade in the courtroom, he has handled thousands of criminal cases, filed hundreds of motions, and cross-examined countless law enforcement officers, expert witnesses, and cooperating witnesses. There is very little that happens in a courtroom David has not seen before—and very little the prosecution can do that he is not ready for.
EXPERTISE
David Alvarez Nguyen doesn't just practice criminal law. He teaches it.
Since 2020, David has served as an adjunct professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, where he teaches Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. The Fourth Amendment isn't something he looks up when a case demands it. It is something he explains, semester after semester, to people who are going to be lawyers.
Most criminal cases are not won at trial. They are won in motions – motions to suppress evidence, exclude a statement, quash a warrant. Those are procedure cases, and they are won by lawyers who actually know the law.
Two of David’s clients had methamphetamine charges dismissed outright—not negotiated down, dismissed—because the searches that produced the evidence were unconstitutional. One was a passenger whose purse the police had no right to open. The other was arrested ten feet from his lawfully parked car, which officers then searched anyway. Neither case reached a jury, because neither case survived the motion.
RESULTS
Reputation and experience matters. Prosecutors and judges know which lawyers try cases and which ones don't.
Reputation and experience matters. Prosecutors and judges know which lawyers try cases and which ones don't. A lawyer who has never tried a case in front of a jury has no leverage. The District Attorney knows it. The plea offer reflects it.
Meaningful negotiation can only happen when the other side knows that when they are not reasonable, you will actually do something about it. You will make them prove—to twelve people, beyond a reasonable doubt, every element of every charge. And you are not bluffing.
That is the entire posture of this firm.
Every case is prepared as if it is going to trial, because that is the only preparation that produces a real offer. Sometimes the case settles on terms the client can live with. If not, it goes to a jury.
David's two favorite words in the English language: not guilty.
Why Never a Prosecutor
We have never worked to put anyone in a cage.
A lot of defense attorneys advertise that they used to be prosecutors. They present it as a credential. Think about what they are actually telling you.
They are telling you that they spent years arguing that people accused of crimes should be locked up. They are telling you that when someone in your exact position stood in front of a judge, they were the one asking for custody. And now they would like your money.
The pitch is that they are an "insider" — that they know people in the DA's office, that they can get you a deal nobody else can. It isn't true. There is no secret handshake. There is only the strength of your case and whether your lawyer is willing to fight for it.
David Alvarez Nguyen has never prosecuted a single human being and never will. For over a decade, every case he touched, he was on the side of the accused. Every cross-examination he has ever conducted, he conducted against the government. That is not a talking point. That is a career.
Hire someone who has spent their entire professional life protecting your rights, not taking them away.
WHAT WE DEFEND
CRIMINAL DEFENSE. THAT'S ALL WE DO.
Some firms handle criminal cases alongside divorces, car accidents, and immigration petitions. Alvarez Nguyen Law APC does one thing. Every hour in this office is spent on criminal defense — state and federal, misdemeanor and felony, from the first knock on the door through appeal.
Below is what that covers. If your charge is not on this list, call anyway. If it is a crime, we defend it.
TESTIMONIALS
"I could not have asked for anyone better to be in my corner. David Nguyen is extremely good at what he does. He will go to great lengths for his clients. He knows the law, and is dedicated to making sure his clients get the representation they deserve. I recommend him 100%. Prepared, knowledgeable, and passionate!"
- Barbara Susan L.
TESTIMONIALS
"David is absolutely amazing! He's helped me not once but twice with my legal matters! I couldn't ask for a better lawyer experience, I would definitely recommend him to others! Thank you for all your help!"
- Lauren L.
TESTIMONIALS
"Mr Alvarez Nguyen is an amazing lawyer. He was as my son's attorney and he did an Amazing job! He was always there for us if we had any questions, day or night. He fought hard for my son. My son Jesus is home with his family because we had Mr Alvarez Nguyen on our side and for that I'm extremely grateful. I thank God everyday that we had such a great lawyer. I recommend Mr Alvarez Nguyen to anyone who needs legal help. Thank you From the bottom of my heart. A very grateful mother."
- Teresita M.
TESTIMONIALS
"I Rarely write reviews but this review is only right for a person who went above and beyond during a dark time in my life. Mr David A Ngyuen was appointed to me and was the most hard working,dedicated,and determined lawyer I could have ever asked for. When the outcome was looking rough he was determined to make sure that wasn't the case. He made sure to prove my innocence and most of all prove my character. He answered every time my family called or I called during and even after the process . Mr Nguyen still reaches out from time to time to make sure that im ok and if im in need of anything. I can honestly say that if it weren't for him I would not be where I am today. I am very honored to have him as my lawyer and I will always recommend him to anyone and everyone . Do not hesitate to call his firm and get a consultation. He moved mountains and went to the ends of the earth to get me and my family the peace and happiness we are enjoying today "
- Jesus M.
TESTIMONIALS
"I've had the opportunity to see David's work up close, and I can say without hesitation that they are one of the sharpest criminal defense lawyers I know. He is exceptionally smart, relentlessly hard-working, and — most importantly — a true fighter for his clients. Criminal defense demands someone who will dig into every detail, challenge the government at every turn, and never take the easy way out. That's exactly who David is. Highest possible recommendation."
- Andre Bollinger
TESTIMONIALS
"The best lawyer. He helped me a lot to understand my case and move forward. I had a really difficult case; I had five felonies, and I ended up only paying for one. I didn't have to go to jail. I'm truly grateful. If you have any legal problems, especially criminal ones, Dave is the best for it."
- Victor P.
The firm represents clients throughout Southern California, including San Diego County, Imperial County, Riverside County, Orange County, and Los Angeles County — in state courts and in federal court for the Southern District of California.