Michael S. Waddington

Michael Waddington did a fantastic job defending my son, a Sr. Airman in a sexual assault case. My son was found not guilty because Michael was able to cross examine the prosecution's witnesses and expose their inconsistencies which led the jury to conclude there was obvious reasonable doubt, The G...overnment (prosecution) was determined to sentence my son. By doing so , he would have been labeled as a sex offender for the rest of his life with possibly a 20+ year prison sentence. When the prosecution did it's opening statements, I felt my heart sink to the floor, but when Michael countered with his, I knew the prosecution was in for a war which Michael ultimately won. My son was released from the Air Force and is now free to start his life over. Michael made that happen. If I had chosen to continue with the military lawyer appointed, I have no doubt that my son would have been convicted a sex offender and serving many years of jail time, I also have to acknowledge Alexandra Gonzalez - Waddington, Michael's wife and law partner. She is incredible and a perfect compliment to Michael. Her "hand holding" was so compassionate. I had so many questions leading up to my son's trial. Now I know why Michael can't always be available while he is concentrating on a trial. She put myself and family at ease by answering all our concerns. Her quick replies to my text messages and voicemails were nothing short of remarkable. Michael and Alexandra are truly an outstanding law team and one worthy of your case.

My life came crashing down around me in January 2017, I was pulled in the Air Force's Special Investigation office and told I was being accused of Article 120, Sexual Assault. It was the second worst day of my life. Immediately following I was assigned a military defense council and starting the nigh...t mare. I hired Mr. Waddington in May when I was officially charged. As soon as I did his wife started piecing together the case and helping to walk me through what to expect. My 32 hearing came up, and we tried to wave it. However, the government chose to proceed anyway. At the hearing things were presented that I thought was a slam dunk. Long story short I got the recommendation to have it dropped, but it was instead pushed forward just like Mr. Waddington said it would be. Flash forward to the second week of December when the trial is set to begin. I met Mr. Waddington for the first time on Sunday. I was unsure of what to expect, but before me stood a very big personality in the room. We talked through what to expect and how he wanted to proceed. The trail kicked off on Tuesday and away he went. The opening argument from the prosecution was sickening. They made me out to be the biggest monster in the world, and played a good show of theatrics that had the jury on the verge of tears. Mr. Waddington got up and gave a brief but powerful opening statement. As trial proceeded, he expertly cross examined every witness and make them look like fools. He caught them in lie after lie, and starting to lay the foundation for motive. When the alleged victim testified, she answered almost every question with, "I don't know." He was still able to catch her in lies, and had her looking to her legal team at a loss for words. Every time the prosecution would object he would laugh it off and steer around the objection to still get to the intended destination. It was like watching someone throw darts at inflated balloons and seeing them pop. When closing arguments came, I thought I was doomed. The went on for over an hour about how I was a violent predator and a monster. They went on to say how their case was proven and tried to only use certain parts of witnesses testimonies and disregard other facts. I cried for ten minutes in the hall with all hope lost. Mr. Waddington got up and gave his closing argument, and he meticulously picked apart every word they said, exposing the holes an showing that I did not do what I was accused of. Once it came time to deliberate, he sat me down and talked me through what to expect if things didn't go well for us, and then let me sit in with my wife and family to await verdict. I sat there looking at videos and pictures of my daughters...it was the worst moment of my life. After three hours the jury came out and gave me a not guilty verdict....I almost collapsed from emotion. Afterwards, I went back with Mr. Waddington and co-counsel to decompress and talk. He told me about how much he loved defending military members, and wished me the best of luck with my life since it was my own again. We parted ways after that. I cannot thank this man enough, he gave me back my life. If you are in a situation such as this....hire him. Yes, the cost is high...but the results are worth it. He is not a cheap lawyer from down the street. He is a hard hitting defense attorney that is worth his weight in gold. He is a very well put together man, and his presence in the room is felt by all. He is very professional but at the same time, a normal person. He jokes, he laughs and he is up front and honest from the start. I cannot say enough good things about this man. Hire him, don't think about it...just do it. He will give you your life back...he gave me mine back and for that I am eternally grateful.

I was accused of an Article 120 violation. I was interrogated by investigators for over 2 hours after I told them repeatedly that I did not do what was alleged. After that, I was "booked" and then put on hold from my current position immediately, which also prevented me from moving forward in my ca...reer and getting promoted. I was pretty much cast out of my unit and stuck in an office by myself with not much interaction from others. I went to the military defense office immediately and was basically told that this will most likely go to court, you will have a preliminary hearing in about 6 months and then you will have a courts martial a few months after that. While I understand now that the military defense lawyer was doing his job and keeping it "real" this news of course caused me instant grief to say the least. That's when I did my research and decided to contact the Waddington & Gonzalez law firm. I first talked to Sandra the paralegal who took my preliminary information and then put me in touch with Mrs. Waddington. She assured me that they would fight this to the bitter end and restore my name and reputation. I can honestly say, that she is VERY passionate about criminal cases and protecting her client’s innocence. Closer to the start of trial, I was in contact with Mr. Waddington who explained his strategy to me on how he was going to fight this case. He also reached out to obtain all “evidence” and had the judge secure my witnesses who the government at first denied. This was absolutely crucial to my case and without him, I’m not sure we would of succeeded with the defense witnesses. He also took an unprecedented step by fighting the prosecutors in a way which I can’t mention, as it may identify this exact case. Let’s just say, it’s something the military lawyer was not comfortable doing, but needed to be done. Mr. Waddington exposed the accuser for the liar and drama maker that she was. He was also able to call up witnesses to testify against her untruthfulness and back stabbing. If that doesn’t blow your mind, I’m not sure what will. Then during his closing arguments, he came up with multiple reasons and questions that the prosecution could not answer. The jury went back and deliberated for over an hour, and after they returned, the judge said, "Will the defense and accused please stand for the verdict...". The jury had reached their decision alright ….. not guilty! Thank you to my military lawyer and to the Waddington and Gonzalez law firm.

I hired Michael and Alexandra after firing another civilian lawyer. I made a big mistake in hiring the first lawyer. His website looked pretty, but he was a fraud. When he started pushing me to plead guilty and do 2 years in jail the day after I paid him for the 32, I knew I had to find someone I cou...ld trust. I knew there was evidence against me, but I wanted a fighting chance. I first talked to Alexandra and she made me feel there was hope and that I had a chance of avoiding a conviction and being a sex offender, which where my goals. Their fee was higher than most of the other lawyers I talked to and double what my first lawyer charged, but it was nothing compared to a lifetime as a registered sex offender. Both Michael and Alexander worked on my case so I got two lawyers for the price. When I talked to Michael, he laid out the defense strategies and techniques we could use to either win the case or avoid a court martial. It was obvious he knew what he was doing. He knew pleading guilty was not an option for me and he never brought it up. He didn’t make empty promises and he was straightforward. Michale said the prosecutor has two choices. Drop the charges and let me out of the military or prove their case to a jury. My case was scheduled for a trial and I was getting nervous but I had faith that they were my best chance. A few weeks before the trial, I got a call with good news. The prosecution was now willing to dismiss the charges and let me out of the military instead of going to court. I am not sure what happened behind the scenes, but it was better than the 2 year deal my other lawyer negotiated. I jumped at the opportunity and now I moved on with my life and I’m finishing college. If I didn’t hire the Waddington’s theres a good chance I would be sitting in jail and my life would be ruined. If you find yourself in a legal problem, don't waste your time, call the Waddington’s and save yourself all the frustration and worry.

Micheal Waddington is hands down the best of the best! Selecting Micheal to represent me at my recent court martial was one of the best decision I could have made. Earlier on in my year long journey Micheal and his exceptional staff reached out to CID informing them that I represented and to leave me... alone. Micheal work deligently on my case developing case strategy, gathering evidence and filing critical motions which would eventually lead to my full acquittal of several specifications of Article 120, 134 and 92 charges. Being tried at general court martial is one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. Regardless of the evidence in the case the government is coming after you and you are in a fight for your life. Forget the innocent until proving guilty, I'm telling you from experience that you are Guility until you can prove your innocent. Anyone that tellsyou any different has probably never faced 60 years, separation from their family and a complete erase of over a decade of exceptional service to their country. You are Guility until you can prove that your innocent and that's the bottom line! The government has unlimited resources and if you'refacing a sexual assault trail, then the alleged victim has at least three lawyers free of charge at his/her disposal. The Special Victim Counsel, Trial Counsel and the very vicious Special Victim Prosecutor. You my friend have a Trail Counsel whom you will only get assigned after charges have been preferred against you. So much can go wrong for you during the investigation, charges being preferred and being assigned a trial counsel. As I stated earlier Micheal contacted CID special agents and advised them to leave me alone, with a good lawyer you wont be hounded by CID Agents who claim they want to help. CID is not your friend and they have absolutely no other desire than to aid the government's team of lawyers in gathering information to convict you. You need a Lawyer, I will warn you however that not all lawyers are equal and sometimes you get exactly what you pay for. If you are facing serious criminal charges than you need a lawyer that has the experience in dealing with such manners. If you are facing a sexual assault allegation there is a 95% or better chance that you are going to trail. I'm sorry to break the news to you but get it in your head I'm in a fight for my life and I'm going to trial. You need a lawyer that has tried cases to verdicts with successful results. I'm telling you from months of research, that Micheal Waddington is the best lawyer that money can buy. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't trust my life in the hands of no one other than Micheal Waddington. At trail Micheal meticulously exploited all of the weaknesses in the government case. Micheal took the fight to the government and after cross examination of the first witness, he had to government in a defensive posture. At the end of the first day of my trail Micheal was so effective that the government was attempting to offer plea deals, I watched him laugh in their face!!!! The second day I testified and was well prepared as a result of Micheal preparing me. Then came the scariest 3 hours of my life after the SVP made me look like the worst person that ever walked the planet, Micheal was up and he in a very calm manner changed the perspective of virtually everyone in the room in regards to facts in the case and the type of Soldier I had been and currently was. Sitting in that waiting room for the decision to come down I remember walking past a table were in plain sight were two boxes containing leg irons and hand cuffs. I say yet again you are in a battle for your life. If it had not been for the exceptional work of Micheal, I wouldnt be typing this messageI. I would be wearing those leg irons and convicted of a crime I didn't even commit. You may think you can't afford a civilian lawyer, I personally feel that you can't not afford one! MICHEAL WADDINGTON!!!!