My situation began in 2016 when a female falsely accused me of sexual assault. Shortly after, I received a phone call from a police investigator, who asked me to provide my statement. I, wanting my side of the story heard, initially agreed, but decided to ask a local attorney to accompany me. This la...wyer ultimately advised against my meeting with the police and instead contacted them on my behalf and represented me going forward. The next couple of months were extremely nerve-wracking so when I received word that the District Attorney dismissed the case I thought everything was great. It wasn't. The Navy contacted me shortly thereafter and informed me of an NCIS investigation for the same allegation. They further informed me that I was placed on legal hold from my impending separation date and the nightmare started all over again. Unfortunately, my local attorney was not familiar with military law, but very fortunately, I was referred to Michael Waddington as the recognized expert in military sexual assault cases. I contacted his firm, Gonzalez & Waddington Attorneys at Law for a consultation. Almost immediately, I received a call from the firm's assistant, Sandra, who put me in touch with Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington for an initial consultation. Mrs. Waddington was very understanding and professional during the interview and put me at ease by thoroughly explaining the process to me and gave me the feeling that I had a seriously experienced team on my side. I definitely had a renewed peace of mind once she agreed the firm would take on my case. In the meantime, a second female band-wagoned with a new sexual assault allegation, making my case that much more complex. While I was completely comfortable with my choice of attorney, things were quickly worsening, and my anxiety was rapidly escalating. Although my interaction with Mrs. Waddington was exclusively remote via email or phone, she handled a majority of their pre-trial information gathering and discussions with me, and any time I needed to speak with her she was extremely responsive. Mr. Waddington attended my Motions Hearing and I was impressed with his demeanor and spent the afternoon discussing the case. I felt comfortable whenever I spoke with my attorneys about the situation despite the stress and angst that were constantly resident in my life. Mr. Waddington arrived the weekend before my court martial and came ready for battle. I was his and my Navy-appointed JAG's sole focus from that point forward and watching them work was simply amazing. At the end of the trial, after six terrifying hours of jury deliberation, I was found Not Guilty of all charges against me, six in total. At times it is difficult to get in touch with him, especially when your case is several months away. However, it is important to remember the best attorneys are the busiest attorneys, and Michael Waddington is among the top attorneys in this field. He is constantly either in preparation for a trial or arguing a case. As my case approached, communication with my JAG, Michael, and Alexandra increased exponentially and there was never any indication of their not having a complete handle on the situation. The financial price for their services seems high but is worth it, especially when you consider what is at stake: for me, it was my freedom, my name, and my future. My life, really. I can say without a doubt that hiring Michael Waddington was the best decision I ever made and I highly recommend him to any military member facing a sexual assault-related charge.

Mr. Waddington is hands down the best defense lawyer around for any kind of sexual assault related cases. He goes above and beyond in his preparation for court. Things may seem slow while working back and forth over email and phone, but when he arrives to prepare for court with you it is full throt...tle. He will put in the hours and review your case/evidence from every angle and determine what is the best defense strategy for you. He also cares about you as an individual, not just a client. He is considerate and thoughtful about your physical and mental state throughout the trial. For those who are on the fence about Mr. Waddington and his team, I 100% recommend him. On the scariest day of my life I'm glad I hired Mr. Waddington and wouldn't want to be defended by anyone but him and his team. He saved my life.

If you don't use Mr. Waddington as your defence lawyer you are doing yourself a disservice. I could not recommend him more. I was bullied by my command and some dirty prosecutors for long enough when I hired the Gonzales Waddington firm. What a difference it made. I was finally able to sleep at night... and my JAG got the message that I was not playing around. A disgruntled ex girlfriend falsely accused me and tried to destroy my life and career. CID and the military lawyers never questioned her story. They labeled me a predator and set out to put me in jail. I felt like I was facing an unwinnable battle when the prosecution called a bunch of lying witnesses and some high priced experts that never took the time to read the case file. This whole time nobody ever questioned the lying accuser or looked at her deleted texts. It was sickening. They took her word over mine no questions asked. They coached her to lie and twisted every word I said. They even tried to block the jury from hearing that we had prior sexual relations. The SVC kept objecting and trying to stop me from getting a fair trial. When Mr. Waddington came into court the prosecutors were scared. They would not even look him in the eye. They sat there talking loudly with the SVC about me and my lawyer. I was getting mad and Mr. Waddington told me to ignore them. He said their rudeness means they are weak and intimidated. After his opening statement, they looked like children. It was entertaining to watch Mr. Waddington deflecting their objections with ease like he was toying with them. He dealt with my ex on cross in a professional way and never lost his cool. She tried to fight him but he kept asking the question until she answered. She looked like an angry liar. The CID agent looked like a chump when he tried to explain why he did not do his job correctly. He was breaking a sweat when Mr. Waddington questioned him using his own manuals. In their closing the prosecution portrayed me like a stalking rapist and they asked why would she lie. During his closing Mr. Waddington told a funny story about a village idiot and I did not know where he was going at first. Then he pointed at the CID agents in the audience and said they were like the village idiot blinding following whatever my lying ex said no matter what. It broke the stress and called out the truth. My ex sat in the audience and got up and stomped out of court with her SVC when Mr. Waddington laid waste to her credibility in front of a packed court during his closing. He listed reasons why she lied and then pointed out examples of her lies made in court. After a scary two hours of deliberations I was acquitted of all charges. This was the best money I ever spent.!

I can't exactly remember how I came across Mr. Waddington, but I watched some YouTube clippings of him and decided to set up a phone consultation. I was being charged with 4 sex crimes and 2 other felonies by the United States Army. Unbeknownst, they charged me without even having evidence back to so...lidify their claims; needless to say it was a witch hunt. I was at the lowest point of my career and life and ready to rollover and accept life in person and having to register as a sad oddender. Until I spoke with and hired Mr W. He demolished and embarrassed the military in the most professional of ways without even having to present witnesses or evidence other than a compelling closing argument. He fights your case as if he used to be a crooked prosecutor. He really knows the evil, corrupt and crooked games they play and the right questions they ask. He considers all scenarios and eloquently makes his arguments with more or less. He was able to get me acquitted on all of my sexual assault charges and burglary off of cross examination and thought - provoking rhetoric alone. I could only imagine what he can do when he really has to roll up his sleeves. He's really in a class of his own as far as defending sexual crimes and is worth every penny. Trust me when I say you CANNOT afford to NOT have him on your side. It's an experience I will never forget and thanks to him I can remember it as a free man.

In early 2015 after 8 years of marriage, I found myself in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle, facing three counts of sexual assault and one count of physical assault. I thought cooperating with CGIS as well as turning over my phone (since I had nothing to hide) would absolve me ...of these accusations. It did NOT. Everything I said, CGIS twisted or used out of context to incriminate me. They even quoted biblical versus and insinuated that if my wife was having an affair it was my fault in some way. After my Article 32 hearing I asked my sister if she thought I should utilize Mr. Waddington. It was clear at that point the Coast Guard was determined to prosecute me and was in fact not on my side. However, I was already under a crushing amount of legal fees and the gamble of spending so much money on a person I had never seen work or even met in person was a bit daunting. My sister reminded me how displeased the prosecution was to hear I had retained him. She asked the all-important question: "How much is your freedom worth?" From that point on, there was no question, I was moving forward as planned. This decision was further validated when someone overheard the prosecutor speaking with the local legal assistance openly about my case and stated how surprised they were that I hired a very powerful and well known attorney who liked to, “go all the way”. I spent a lot of time gathering as much evidence as I could to prove my innocence as well as give my attorneys enough material to build a case. Due to shield laws that protect alleged victims, it can make entering relevant information nearly impossible. On more than one occasion I wasn't even sure if we could utilize the fact she was having an affair as evidence. This was a corner stone of our defense, but Mr. Waddington and as well as my JAG made sure we were able too. After fourteen months of uncertainty and with 90.5 years of prison time hanging over my head as well as sex offender status, my court martial began. Mr. Waddington and my JAG worked together seamlessly as if they had been working together for years. They planned for every contingency and were able to completely discredit my wife. Mr. Waddington got her to admit at one point that she had planned out some or all of these lies and that she was even abusive towards me. Every lie she told allowed us to utilize text messages, notes, threats and voicemails I had amassed over the last year. When she denied something we had in writing, he pointed at my JAG who had his iPad connected to the TV in the room. Mr. Waddington then read her own text message to the contrary of what she was saying. At one point the tally of lies we could prove she was telling was roughly 37. Together they destroyed her credibility, character, and through a well laid out timeline of events, were able to raise some serious questions about her motives behind these allegations. The prosecution could barely obtain an objection to our lines of questioning. Mr. Waddington and my JAG had planned one, if not three other arguments as to why this questioning or evidence was admissible. On the last day, a large audience had gathered to hear closing statements and the verdict. After only 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury had come to a decision… Innocent of all charges! After fourteen months of hell I had my life and future back. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to help protect me. If you are considering Mr. Waddington as a perspective defense attorney and wondering if all of his accolades are self-promotion and promises he can’t follow through on, I assure you they are NOT. He and his wife are an amazing team. They will fight for you, and genuinely care about their clients. I will never be able to thank them enough. Thank you for protecting my freedom and getting my life back!