Zak Taylor Goldstein

Zak T. Goldstein is a Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer who will take ownership of your case and fight until he obtains the best possible result for you. Most importantly, Mr. Goldstein is a lawyer who is not afraid to take a difficult case to trial. He has tried hundreds of cases before judges and juries, and he has successfully defended thousands of clients in both state and federal court. He has won critical pre-trial motions including motions to suppress evidence such as drugs, guns, and confessions. He has also won full acquittals for his clients in both bench trials and jury trials. When the circumstances of the case call for it, Mr. Goldstein is a skilled negotiator. On many occasions, he has been able to obtain favorable non-trial resolutions to his clients' cases, including the dismissal of charges, entry into diversionary programs like ARD, and negotiated pleas to significantly reduced charges and sentences.  

Mr. Goldstein is widely considered to be one of Pennsylvania’s top appellate litigators for criminal appeals. He has successfully represented clients in criminal appeals, post-conviction relief act litigation, and federal habeas corpus petitions under 18 U.S.C. § 2544. He has obtained new trials for clients who were convicted of charges as serious as first degree murder and sexual assault and convinced appellate courts to overturn life sentences on appeal. He has argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and litigated writs of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. He has also obtained relief for clients in numerous PCRA and federal habeas corpus matters, including winning an exoneration based on prosecutorial and police misconduct for a client who spent 33 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

Zak Goldstein started his own criminal defense practice because he is passionate about defending the constitutional rights of the accused and helping victims of police misconduct obtain justice. He is an experienced advocate who will fight hard for your rights in order to make sure that you have every possible advantage when dealing with the power of the police and the prosecutor. Attorney Goldstein has experience with all types of charges ranging from misdemeanors like DUI and Simple Possession to serious felonies such as Aggravated Assault, Robbery, gun charges, Possession with the Intent to Deliver, sex crimes, and criminal Homicide. 

Prior to starting his own defense firm in Center City Philadelphia with attorney Demetra Mehta, Zak Goldstein was an Assistant Defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia; one of the most well regarded and highly trained public defender offices in the country. As a defender, he gained the trial experience needed to fight for his clients and get results. He represented thousands of clients charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors like DUI and Simple Assault to the very most serious and complex felonies. After leaving the Defender Association, Zak Goldstein worked for a time as an associate for a nationally recognized AmLaw 200 law firm specializing in complex civil litigation.

Mr. Goldstein has been recognized by other lawyers in the community for his unwavering advocacy for his clients and ability to get results in the courtroom, and he has won a number of prestigious awards. He is ranked as a Top Attorney in Criminal Defense with the highest AVVO rating of Superb 10.0. He was also selected as one of the National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 in criminal defense. His law firm, Goldstein Mehta LLC, is rated by Expertise and Forbes as one of the Top 20 Best Criminal Defense Firms and top 10 Best Firms in Philadelphia respectively. He has also been selected to SuperLawyers seven straight years. Finally, the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys recently recognized Mr. Goldstein as one of the Top 10 Criminal Defense Lawyers Under 40 in Pennsylvania.

Zak Goldstein graduated summa cum laude from Moravian College with a degree in Economics and a minor in Spanish. He graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University School of Law, where he was an associate editor of the Villanova Law Review. During law school, Zak Goldstein gained valuable experience working for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and a boutique law firm specializing in white collar criminal defense. Zak Goldstein is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is an active member of the legal community, and he maintains memberships in the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Philadelphia Criminal Law Inn of Court, the American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Philadelphia Bar Association.