Thomas F McGuire III

Thomas F McGuire III

4.8
Rating: 9.1

Licensed for 41 years

Criminal defense Lawyer at Pensacola, FL
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Violent Crime ... +2 more

314 S Baylen St, Ste 111, Pensacola, FL

About Thomas

Biography

Practice Areas

5

Practice Areas

Criminal Defense 40%

After a criminal charge, your life can quickly be turned upside down. Work with an experienced attorney to start regaining control of your future. At Panhandle Defense Firm, Attorney Tom McGuire practices exclusively in the area of criminal defense.

40%
DUI and DWI 20%

You have 10 days to challenge the automatic suspension of your driver's license after a DUI arrest. We believe it is critical that you invoke your right to a hearing within 10 days. Call now to speak about your rights.

20%
Drug Crime 10%

You've likely heard about drug busts on the news. During a traffic stop, an officer smelled marijuana and arrested the driver on drug possession charges. Panhandle Defense Firm holds law enforcement accountable.

10%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 30 minutes


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Licenses

Licensed in Florida for 30 years

State: Florida

Acquired: 1995

Member in Good Standing

No misconduct found

Licensed in Pennsylvania for 41 years

State: Pennsylvania

Acquired: 1984

Administrative Suspension

No misconduct found

Location

Panhandle Defense Firm

314 S Baylen St, Ste 111, Pensacola, FL, 32502

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Thomas F McGuire III's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.8 /5.0

23 Client Reviews

5 star (22)
4 star (0)
3 star (0)
2 star (0)
1 star (1)

Posted by Vita | March 11, 2025 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Happy grandma vita

Mr McGuire the best lawyer I have ever hired he knows his job he brought my grandson home from being charged with a attempted murder he set in jail for a year in a half but to day he’s free to God be the glory!!! Thank you Tom McGuire for all your hard work! The best lawyer in Pensacola so please hir...e him if you have a murder charge, attempted murder charges he’s the man thank you so much

Posted by Tara | August 8, 2023 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Treats you like family!!

I was going through a divorce and then on top of this I got a misdemeanor I was not at fault and wanted to prove my innocence. He made me feel at ease and when things came up unexpected in the court room he was very quick to flip it back . My case got dismissed. He knows his stuff. I would definite...ly recommend him to anyone

Posted by anonymous | January 30, 2023 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Client

My son's case required special effort from getting treatment records, bringing the truth to the judge, and convincing the Probation Officer into dismissing count 3, failure to get treatment. she originally declined to dismiss until he showed her that the Probation Order did not require the proba...tion officer to give advance approval of the treatment provider- she chose Hope Counseling and she was saying that he was required to go there but he wasn't. He was very detailed in preparing and bringing out the truth. He listened to every detail we had to share with him. He took the time to make my son, who has a learning disability, understand and stay calm. My son was released and is able to continue progress with treatment. I have never dealt with a lawyer that listened and was genuine about caring and doing the right thing.

Posted by Symone | December 14, 2022 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

Rude, does not process paperwork correctly, doesn't care after he gets his money, old, mean, impatient and inconsistent

I was cursed at by Tom on multiple occasions AFTER HIRING HIM for my case. He told any and every one details about my case. Pensacola is small and it just so happened that I knew someone else who he was representing at the same time..that other person he was representing told me facts about MY CASE... with my name and other vital information that they should have never gotten from Tom. We ultimately lost the case and found that Tom did not file my paperwork correctly just as he had done during the case which caused it to be more driawn out and costly than it had to be. NOW my situation could drastically cost me for his negligence in filing my information incorrectly. He told me to call him to remind him of HIS commitment to get the situation straightened out and I did just that. Once I called to remind him, he told me to provide him with the number to call and see what steps needed to be taken to sort out my paperwork in the system, he told me to hold on while he made the call so I did. He then called the number he asked me to provide for him and put the call on 3-way and proceeded to go through the prompts and next thing I know he's telling me that I have so much S#!T in the background and HUNG UP THE PHONE ON ME ( I was at work so I get that, but I did not need to be on the phone for this anyway) HE WILL NOT ASSIST NOR WILL HE ANSWER ANY MORE OF MY CALLS TOM IS RUDE, MEAN, IRRITABLE, AND MONEY HUNGRY HE DOESNT CARE DO NOT HIRE HIM AWFUL EVEN OTHER LAWYERS LAUGH AND TALK ABOUT HOW INCOMPETENT HE IS. HE CONSTANTLY TRIPS ALL OVER HIS WORDS AND THOUGHTS I only know this first hand from watching him in court and seeing how others responded to his extremely rocky and elementary representation.

Posted by Delores | June 28, 2022 | Hired Attorney

This review is from a person who hired this attorney.

10 minute NOT GUILTY Verdict facing 30 years

I highly recommend anyone facing a situation such as my son looking at a minimum 15 years as the plea he was offered and 30 years if convicted to go with Tom. With the due diligence of Tom and his knowledge of the law my son received a verdict of not guilty in not even 10 minutes of deliberation.

See All Client Reviews

Thomas F McGuire III's Lawyer Endorsements

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Experience

Rating:  9.1 (Superb)

Honors

2021

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2020

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2019

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2018

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2017

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2016

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2015

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2014

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2013

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2012

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2011

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2010

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

Work Experience

2006 - Present

Managing Partner, Panhandle Defense Firm

1996 - 2006

Public Defender, Florida State Public Defender

1984 - 1996

Prosecuting Attorney, Salem County Prosecutor's Office

Education

1984

Widener University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1979

Saint Joseph's University

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution