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James E. Czarnecki II

also known as CZARNECKI & TAYLOR PLLC

4.3
Rating: 6.8

Licensed for 21 years

Criminal defense Lawyer at Mount Clemens, MI
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense

59 N. Walnut Street, Suite 201, Mount Clemens, MI

About James

Biography

Practice Areas

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Practice Area

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Licenses

Licensed in Michigan for 21 years

State: Michigan

Acquired: 2004

Active in Good Standing

No misconduct found

Location

CZARNECKI & TAYLOR PLLC

59 N. Walnut Street, Suite 201, Mount Clemens, MI, 48043-5663

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James E. Czarnecki II's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.3 /5.0

12 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (12) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 12 reviews

Posted by Steve | September 13, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense

Great Criminal Defense Attorney

Hiring James Czarnecki was the best decision I could have made. Facing criminal charges was one of the scariest experiences of my life, and I felt completely overwhelmed before meeting James and Genevieve. From the very first conversation, they treated me like a human being, not just another case. Th...ey listened without judgment, gave me hope when I felt hopeless, and walked me through every step with patience and compassion. What really stood out to me was how much they genuinely cared. I never felt alone—James Czarnecki always answered my calls, explained things in a way I could understand, and made sure I knew what to expect. In court, his confidence and skill was clear, and it was clear he had earned the respect of everyone in the room. Thanks to James' dedication and hard work, the outcome of my case was better than I ever imagined. I’ll never forget the relief and gratitude I felt that day. I am forever thankful to James for giving me a second chance, and I would recommend Czarnecki & Taylor to anyone who needs not just great lawyers, but true advocates who will fight for you when you need it most.

Posted by Laura | July 06, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Criminal Defense

Grateful

To say we are grateful is an understatement. James took the time with my nephew to get the plea we wanted. He always took our phone calls and texts, was patient, and never gave up and settled. He was educated and if he didn’t know something he would look it up. His cost by far was so reasonable compa...red to others. We are so thankful for James and what he did for our nephew. With the utmost respect and gratitude, thank you for everything.

Posted by anonymous | December 17, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Speeding & Traffic Ticket

Lazy/ Unprofessional

First of all if I could give a negative star I would. I met James Czarnecki through a mutual aquantance over 2 yrs ago.. Someone I should of never trusted in the first place, referred me to him. Note to self...NEVER get a refural from someone you shouldnt trust. If your a shister you most likely kn...ow alot of them.......Hence the Lawyer ( James Czarnecki ) who practices out of Mt. Clemens. I Retained James Czarnecki with hopes to get my license back, after all who wouldn't after hearing glorified promises of how he's the best suitor for the job. I gave him cash and got a receipt for the down payment. It took him almost a year after hounding him to see if he had filed the motion to Mt Clemens Circuit Court to see if I was able to get my license early, something I paid over and above my retainer fees. He never returned my text messages or calls, It took nearly 7 months to hear back and a bold message from me to actually have him finally return my call. I thought when you retain an Attorney, there supposed to handle the legal end and most of leg work for you. He gave me a list of things to do and people I need to contact. Hmmmm. I get it, there are things I have to do myself, which I did. Everytime I did a step of the homework he gave me, He made an excuse to hold me back and bow my material.is out dated, and I'm out alone of money. Never referred me to any professional. I mean if you claim to be a Driver's License restoration attorney, I'm pretty sure you have a handy little roladex! NOPE....I needed to do all that myself. If that was the case. Then I should of saved my money and did it myself! Thanks for nothing!

James Czarnecki

Replied last December 17, 2020

Unfortunately this gentleman could not follow through with what he needed to do to get his driver's license back for a second time. First, he retained our services approximately 7 months ago. He was given a specific set of instructions that he needed to fulfill in order to get his license back. A previous office represented him and he was still not successful. The requirements included a substance abuse evaluation report, letters of reference, proof of attendance of AA. I even recommended a substance abuse evaluator in our office. He never arranged an appointment. For clarification, an attorney cannot request a hearing until all of the documents have been received from the client. An attorney cannot do any of that work for him as it is personal especially the notarized reference letters. Unfortunately, he did not do a single thing to get his license back. In fact he could not even remember his specific date of sobriety and had to ask me what the date was from his prior hearing that he lost with another attorney who specializes in driver's license restoration. And, I challenge him to provide proof that he did as required. Because he did not. He does not have any copies of the things he allegedly completed. So, he is in fact lying. Yes, he was recommended by a former client who in fact we did get his license back for him. That is why the client referred this gentleman to our office because of our success rate for over 16 years. Also, this gentleman is upset because he occupied our time with several legal issues that did not involve his license. I told him if he had an issue to bring it to court and to notify the attorney grievance commission as I welcomed and looked forward to answering any claim. I have hundreds of text messages documenting our conversations and refuting everything he has stated here. Instead of pursuing his license, he wanted our office to sue everyone and possibly defend him from harassment claims. One of his legal issues involved a claim that he was harassing a contractor and was threatened with the police. So, his behavior in this post is not a surprise. After 16 years of practice our reputation is solid especially regarding this solitary review.

Posted by anonymous | December 17, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Speeding & Traffic Ticket

Outstanding license restoration lawyer. A+++++++

I was reading the prior review as I am a current client of Mr. Czarnecki's. The previous review could not be further from the truth. The reason I am writing this is because I am overwhelmed that Mr. Czarnecki was able to get my license back. It was not easy as I did not have a good record. I can ...keep my job now. In fact, my previous lawyer could not do what he did. This lawyer referred me to Mr. Czarnecki because he has good results with difficult cases. And, Mr. Czarnecki responded to all of my questions and concerns. At any time of the day or night. I also want to say he took the time to explain things to me unlike any other attorney I have hired. He prepared me to testify at the hearing and I was well prepared to win. He is kind, supportive, knowledgable and cares about his clients. I don't write reviews often but I have to stand up for an attorney who fights for his clients.

Posted by Forgotten | April 12, 2017 | Lawsuits & Disputes

Criminal Defense

Very attentive and claims to be working your case with great expectations. Will then transition to a lets get it done attitude and work to get the case closed rather than work for a mutual resolution. Once he has worked the case through the system he becomes very hard to get a hold of. Once he has co...llected all of your money apparently his work is complete and does not require return phone calls.

James Czarnecki

Replied last April 12, 2017

We are sorry he felt this way. We had invested hundreds of hours in this case despite the fact that we did not get paid. Yet, we still kept working. We never stopped and were prepared to go to trial. We even had an intern work on the case to review thousands of pages of documents. I negotiated the case with the prosecutor and reached a plea agreement the client wanted to accept to avoid prison. My partner's relentless review of the documents saved this gentleman over $50,000 in restitution that the prosecutor incorrectly calculated. The client agreed to a plea deal where his felony was reduced once, and yet again when restitution had been paid in full. Not only that, since we reduced the amount of money embezzled, we saved him certain prison time. He never spent a day in jail. He will be able to expunge the offense and be record free. Yes, our office kept trying to get him to pay his bill. After hundreds of hours of work we believed that was fair. Any business can only do so much without getting paid for services especially when it amounted to hundreds of hours of work. Reader please note the following. There are three key statements missing from this review: (1) we kept fighting for him without pay because we had invested so much time and effort in the case. (2) despite his claims in the review he wanted me to keep working on his case and (3) he wanted to accept the plea because it was in his best interest. Again, we are sorry he felt this way. In the end, we reached a deal the client was very happy to accept. We are pleased that we adhered to our principle to reach the best outcome for all of our clients. In this case, we were able to reach an outcome he specifically wanted and asked for, that is, save this gentleman's career, avoid incarceration, save his future and tens of thousands of dollars. I achieved all of those goals. Even though we feel this review is inaccurate, incomplete and unfairly characterizes me and my office, we wish him and his family the best in the future.

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James E. Czarnecki II's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse James
Genevieve L. Taylor headshot
Genevieve Taylor

Criminal defense lawyer | Apr 12

Relationship: Co-worker

"I endorse this lawyer. Mr. Czarnecki is an amazing attorney. He works above and beyond most attorneys. Mr. Czarnecki will work into the night to make sure he wins the fight. If you want an aggressive, intelligent attorney, Mr. Czarnecki is the best choice for you."

View All Endorsements
Genevieve L. Taylor headshot
Genevieve Taylor

Criminal defense lawyer

Experience

Rating:  6.8 (Good)

Honors

2000

First Undergraduate Research Grant in Criminal Justice, Wayne State University

Work Experience

2013 - Present

Criminal Defense Attorney - Managing Partner, CZARNECKI & TAYLOR PLLC

2004 - 2013

Criminal Defense Attorney, LUCIDO & MANZELLA PC

2002 - 2003

Appeal Intern, Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Detroit, Mi

2001 - 2004

Appeal Attorney, Appeal Network - Law Firm of Gerald Lorene

2001 - 2001

Intern, Federal Defender's Office of Michigan

Associations

2004 - Present

State Bar of Michigan

N/A

2004 - Present

Macomb County Bar Association

2004 - Present

Federal District Court Eastern District of Michigan

N/A

Sample of Legal Cases

Assault with Intent to Commit Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder; Felonious Assault reduced to misdemeanor

Plea deal negotiated - felony charges dismissed

Appeal Hearing for Reinstatement of License

License granted

Case dismissed - Attempted Murder with lesser offense of Assault With Intent to Commit Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder

Case dismissed - motion to quash granted

Convictions for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon Overturned and Dismissed

Appeal win - Convictions Overturned

Federal charge Union Fraud Dismissed

Diversion granted; case dismissed

Dismissal of Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder

Case dismissed

Felony Prescription Fraud Dismissed at preliminary examination

Case dismissed at preliminary examination

Court of Appeals Win - Overturned 4 Counts Criminal Sexual Conduct -First Degree

Appeal victory

Assaulting a Federal Agent Charges Dismissed

Case dismissed

Evidence suppressed due to illegal search and seizure under the 4th Amendment/ case dismissed

Evidence suppressed; case dismissed

Fourth Amendment Violations - Cases Dismissed on motion and evidentiary hearing

Motion granted; evidence suppressed; cases dismissed

Trial Win - Not guilty verdicts in Criminal Sexual Conduct Case

Not guilty of all counts

Defense of Embezzlement of $1,000,000

Felonies dismissed; reduced to disorderly conduct that is kept off client's record

Federal Charge of Alien Smuggling Dismissed

Case dismissed

Criminal Sexual Conduct First-Degree - HYTA Negotiation

HYTA granted - charges dismissed

2 charges of Drunk Driving Second Degree Murder plus 8 other felonies and misdemeanors - resolved in plea negotiation

Plea deal negotiated

First-Degree Murder - New trial granted after evidentiary hearing

New trial granted by trial court

Trial Win -Not guilty verdicts on attempted murder and all assaultive crimes

Not guilty

See More Legal Cases

Education

2004

Wayne State University Law School

JD - Juris Doctor

2001

Wayne State University

Bachelor of Science

2001

Wayne State University

BS - Bachelor of Science

Publications

Languages

English

Activity

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