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Elite Criminal Defense

8880 Rio San Diego, Suite 800

San Diego, CA 92108

(619) 642-2310

elitecriminaldefense.com

East LA is often referred to as a rough neighborhood, but it is also an environment that helped define a lifetime goal for Oscar Valencia, who chose a career in law, primarily in criminal defense in state and federal courts. A strong family and a vibrant culture molded a young man into an advocate for those involved in the toughest of challenges any attorney or law firm can face.

As the founder of Elite Criminal Defense, he has more than 20 years of experience handling the toughest hard core gang cases: strong armed robbery, kidnapping, RICO, extortion, murder, environmental crimes, white collar crimes, fraud, embezzlement. He also has considerable experience in administrative law, licensing, environmental, and general civil litigation, criminal writs and appeals.

Today, Valencia is admitted to practice in all State of California Courts, the Southern District of California, the Eastern District of California, the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, Colorado District Courts, Federal 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The path leading to founding his own law firm had a few twists and turns. As a kid, he dreamed of a legal career, but one in law enforcement. “CHIPS was my favorite TV show. Being a cop was my dream. I loved those Dirty Harry movies,” he says.

He graduated high school, but wasn’t old enough to apply to the police academy. The father of a friend, a deputy sheriff, said his best way to becoming a police officer would be to join the Marines, grow a couple of years, and gain a lot of real-word experience. He joined and became a radioman. “I enjoyed my time in the Marine Corp. I actually enjoyed the discipline. I liked the camaraderie, the travel, and I liked shooting guns,” he says.

A Low Grade for a Perfect Score

When Valencia left the Marines, he applied for a program at that time called Explorer, in which a candidate for the sheriff’s academy is given background checks, physical exams and challenges, and mental tests. All this is prior to applying for the academy.

The background check and the physical were no problem. The written test was the only challenge because he achieved a perfect score. He had studied at the library for months, literally every day, to prepare for the written tests. He also studied the old tests and test guides. “I was more than ready for any test they could throw at me,” he says.

After the test, he was called in and told to report to a lieutenant who threatened to arrest him for cheating on the exam. Valencia says the officer said, “There’s no way some dumb Marine is going to get a perfect score on a test that I, a college graduate, failed to do.” Valencia knew better. “I was firm, so they hooked me up to a polygraph machine. Of course, I passed.”

That experience redirected his course. “I was devastated at the accusation of cheating. I said to myself, all right, if that’s the way they want it, I’ll move on.” One evening he was watching LA Law and the thought of becoming an attorney took hold. His next step was to graduate from college and then attend law school. He enrolled at Pepperdine Law in 1997 and passed the bar in June of 2001.

Moot court was one of his favorite law school activities, especially since the judge was a practicing judge out of the Malibu courthouse. Of all the cases he experienced, criminal defense was his favorite. “I think part of the attraction came from being accused of cheating back in the Marines. A lot of people get accused of crimes they didn’t commit and I realized people in that situation really needed an experienced advocate, someone willing to stand up and fight for their rights. And there shouldn’t be a disparity because one guy is rich and another is poor. That thought really motivated me.” 

During his first year of law school, Valencia worked for a firm where he gained considerable experience in constitutional law and environmental law. The firm also represented manufacturers and the NRA. “They didn’t have me just sitting around answering the phones; I was doing real work,” he says.

Singing Solo

The country was in a recession the year he graduated from law school and job opportunities for recent graduates were scarce to non-existent. He was living in LA at the time. Governments weren’t hiring and the jobs legal firms offered were primarily in civil litigation, an area of little interest. “I realized I really didn’t have any choice in the matter. Most of the lawyers doing criminal defense were solo practitioners. I had to join them and hang out my own shingle if I was going to work as an attorney.”

Valencia learned something many lawyers learn the hard way their first year in solo practice. Law schools teach the law, practicing law, preparing for court and other basic tasks, but invest very little time, if any, on management of a law firm, marketing, generating and keeping clients and the nuts and bolts of running a firm. Valencia’s advice to recent law school graduates considering going out on their own immediately upon graduation is basic: Don’t. 

He advises working for a firm or government agency to pick up real-world knowledge and experience before going into solo practice. Experience in a firm or organization will expose the young attorney to not only how to do the job as a lawyer, regardless of whether it’s family law, personal injury, or criminal defense, or any practice area. Equally important, they can teach how to actually do the job of running a business. Someone in that position gets to see and hopefully experience the other side of the law—the business side of it, how they market, how firms bring in the clients and carry them through complex legal challenges. They learn how attorneys do what they do and why they decide to retain some clients and some clients they don’t retain, and how the money side of it works, because that knowledge is necessary if someone is going to hang out his or her shingle and avoid going broke.

“In a solo practice, you’re your own paralegal, your own secretary, your own marketing guy, your own collections guy, your own pretty much everything guy. They don’t really teach you that in school, especially the marketing and how to market correctly. You can manage all of that, and more, but you have to gain the experience first,” he says.

Helping the Man Who Wasn’t There

One of Valencia’s most memorable cases was a matter of mistaken identity in an attempted murder case.

His client was accused of shooting his boss four times in the chest at point blank range. The boss was having an employee meeting with about ten of his employees, all sitting around a big, round table. The event occurred at a busy restaurant in downtown LA. A man burst in and fired a pistol at the boss. The boss said the shooter was Valencia’s client. The witnesses at the table made the same identification.

It looked like a classic open-and-shut case.

“A case like this proves why you can’t be lazy.” Valencia inspected the restaurant, reviewed all the police reports, and interviewed all the witnesses. It turned out that nobody actually saw who shot the guy. They were too busy dodging, ducking and scrambling around to notice any pertinent details.

victim had had a fight with the client over money earlier that day. The client, a gardener, had unsuccessfully tried to get paid for his work and that had started the earlier altercation. The boss just assumed that the shooter was the same person. All the other witnesses at the table made the same assumption based on the boss’s false identification.

Valencia tried the case and earned a not guilty verdict for his client. “You never assume anything in a case and you always do your due diligence one hundred percent. Every client deserves that,” he says.

Elite Criminal Defense

Valencia is known for his honesty as well as his in-depth research and diligence. “I’ll tell you if I think you’re screwed or not. If I think you’ve got a good case or a solid defense. I’ll tell you if I think that what you’re telling me is baloney, I’ll tell you that to your face. But if I take on your case, I will always take the time to thoroughly investigate your case and make sure to leave no stone unturned. The case of the man who wasn’t there illustrates that commitment,” he says.

His firm employs three attorneys, three paralegals, and two assistants. He describes his management style as laid back, but holding employees accountable. Each morning the staff meets to review cases and plot strategies. Each client receives the services of an entire team dedicated to that client’s success, even in some of the most challenging practice areas of the legal system.

Valencia’s commitment to his clients and his management style consistently earn rave reviews for his entire team:

“Had the best experience with a lawyer, contracted him to represent a relative. Was very professional and took the time to listen. Gave clear and detailed explanation of what was the process. Very trustworthy, a man of his word. Give my relative the greatest representation and got an outcome better than expected. Very direct, honest, tell you how it is, does not sugar coat it and well worth the money he charges. Would recommend him to family, friends and anyone asking for a lawyer.” —Mike Salazar

“This firm is amazing, very good people, trust me when I say good people, they will not take on a case if they can’t help you; while other places would jump on it for the money, they only care about one thing and that is to help you and make this problem go away.” —Tyler Barlow

“My boyfriend was falsely accused of theft at work. After shopping around, we were so happy and relieved to have met with Mr. Valencia at Elite Criminal Defense! His professionalism and knowledge kept my boyfriend out of jail, restoring his reputation and clean criminal record! We couldn’t be more grateful for his support during this stressful and difficult time.” —Elsa Caballero

“If you’re ever in legal trouble definitely call these people, they helped me out so much and I can’t be anymore grateful. Really put my mind at ease when I was stressing out about my situation. 10/10 highly recommend them to everyone!”—Arturo Davalos

“When my people are given a project, I don’t accept excuses for why things weren’t done or why they weren’t done on time. I keep it friendly. I’m not the type of boss who will scream at an employee, but obviously, I’m the type of boss who if you’re not doing your job, I’m going to find someone who will. I’ve found that attitude and approach helps attract the best people.”

His leadership has guided his team to a long list of victories, including: all charges being dropped for a client accused of multiple counts of child abuse once the firm intervened; a trial victory when the firm urged their client to not accept prosecution offers to settle the case; a not guilty trial verdict for a client accused of child molestation of his step daughter; a client facing 15 years in prison for multiple felonies had his charges reduced to probation, avoiding any jail time; and a client charged with burglary and 2nd degree murder was acquitted by a jury in less than a day of deliberation.

The path from East LA to a successful and growing legal practice was a twisting and turning path for Oscar Valencia, yet it has been a rewarding one. “I love where I am today and where I know I’m headed. My staff and I are right where we need to be, doing the kind of work and the quality of work we should be doing—for our firm, our families and for the people we serve,” he says. 

Getting Personal

Valencia leads a full and interesting life out of the office. One of his fascinations is building choppers—motorcycles. A chopper is a hand-crafted (“chopped”) motorcycle which has modified steering angles and lengthened forks which provide the stretched look of the vehicle. He doesn’t modify an existing bike, preferring to build one from scratch. He starts with the frame, adds the transmission, installs the motor, and does all the wiring.

“I really enjoy building motorcycles. I usually build one just for fun. I keep it for a while, enjoy it, and then sell it. At that point, I can begin building a new one,” he says.

lso maintains his interest in guns. He doesn’t enjoy hunting, but does enjoy target practice. “Hunting is a pain in the you-know-what. But I like shooting different types of guns. It’s a neat experience, especially if you’ve never done it before. Being proficient with firearms and building something from the ground up is the same with criminal defense. You start with the basics, use tried-and-true methods, work very hard and in the end you have something you can take pride in.”