Michael Eric Kraut

I was backed into a corner at the last minute and needed an attorney fast. I found Mr. Kraut by chance through an internet search. It turned out to be an outstanding choice. From the beginning of the process, Mr. Kraut was reassuring and began handling all of the legal matters with minimal involve...ment from me. It was a criminal case that was overcharged and the district attorney would not lessen the charge and the case went to trial. The charge was a 314(pc) which would have required me to register as a sex offender for life. Mr. Kraut was completely prepared in all aspects of the case from the jury selection process to interviews of witnesses, etc. His staff was available to support him as necessary. He was very supportive in answering questions and maintaining a positive attitude about the outcome, helping to alleviate my stress and anxiety about the process and the uncertainty of the outcome. Mr. Kraut was able to weaken the prosecutors allegations against me by finding every hole possible in the case. I couldn't be happier with the outcome and would recommend Mr. Kraut to anyone looking for a hard working, smart, and professional defense attorney.

Michael Kraut is an amazing lawyer and even more an amazing human being he and his team helped me through a really difficult time in my life. I was arrested on several counts of lewd conduct to indecent exposure. Criminally I was looking at sex registration, years of jail time, and multiple fines....... Not to mention embarrassment humiliation and most likely loss of any future advancement in career. I was a true mess, when I first contacted Michael, having never been in trouble with the law and very scared, confused, and shaken he was able to hear me and believe in me (I was comforted by his candidness). In that time to have someone in my corner who said he was going to be there for me, stand, fight for me and that it was going to be all ok as long as I listened and relaxed (which in my case was not easily done but he was able to cut through the bs and guide me through the next 6 months) He saved me and my professional career he was direct but calming firm but carrying he reassured me and got me through. I created a mountain of trouble and Mr. Kraut was able to make a small speed bump out of that mountain. He was able to help me by bringing down the charges making sure I would not have to register as a sex offender no jail time an minimal fines, he was able to make most of the charges go away and lower the two that were left and in the end have the possibility of the charges ex sponged from my record (as long as I follow the courts orders and not get in any trouble). His concern for me and my anguish were genuine and came from a real place I was so impressed by his skills and his knowledge of the law and of people. I can never repay Him for his time, efforts, and his professionalism, they were priceless to me, and for allowing me a second chance at life. I would highly recommend Michael kraut... he is the absolute best!!!

I have never been in trouble with the law. So you can imagine how I felt being arrested and charged with 4 felonies involving sex crimes. There was no way I was guilty but I didn't know where to turn. Michael Kraut was the second attorney I met with and he had a plan all laid out. He was able to suc...cessfully negotiate with the detective in charge not to file these serious felony charges. This was a huge accomplishment. However the city attorney refiled these felony charges as misdemeanors. Again Mr Kraut was able to successfully get these serious charges dismissed. His experience and tenacity saved me a lot of griefs. I highly recommend him for anyone looking for aggressive representation. I'm forever grateful for what he did in handling my case.

I cannot begin to express my eternal gratitude for the way Michael Kraut handled my son’s case. The day we received "the call" from our son, I was first in shock and then my heart simply sank to a depth that couldn't be measured! I honestly felt the world should just end right then. He was charged... with sexual offenses. This was so not the son I knew and loved. I was 100% convinced from the day we read the AVVO reviews, that Michael Kraut was the attorney for him, however, our son had to make the ultimate decision. There were so many sleepless nights and we were frightened to death. Three months before our searching on AVVO, our son had hired a different lawyer. He would call and tell us he could never get through on the phone to his lawyer. A receptionist would always say he was in court. Feeling very uneasy about how things were being handled, my husband flew out to California from Texas to be present at the first scheduled court date. The lawyer never appeared. Things were definitely NOT going right. I cannot say emphatically enough, that I KNOW in my heart God led us to Michael Kraut. The decision was made to switch lawyers and Michael Kraut was the one our son chose. He shared with us of the many conversations the two of them had. They were of immense comfort to our son. During one of his favorite conversations, Mr. Kraut shared that it was his style to mentally put himself in the shoes of the ones he represented. Michael Kraut believed in our son as we do, and I just cannot thank him enough for always being there for him. Repeatedly, our son would say to us that Mr. Kraut was always the one who would answer the phone. If someone is looking for the best, be encouraged to trust Michael Kraut, because he is compassionate and kind, and knows exactly what steps to take. Be confident to follow all of his advice, and walk in his shadow feeling safe. The outcome of this case could have altered the course of our son’s life in a negative way, causing barriers that would have prevented him from using his God-given talents. He is still young with a bright future waiting, thanks to Michael Kraut’s faith in him and the wisdom to know what path to take. Mr. Kraut, I hope you realize that you are a REAL testimony to what mercy, forgiveness, and grace are, and that you were an answered prayer. I pray God’s blessings will just keep pouring into your life as you continue to help so many others along the way.

In early December, my father was accused of indecent exposure by someone in the neighborhood. The detective pretty much said my father had to be guilty because he found other witnesses that have seen him walking around nude in the back yard of our house before. Apprently "innocent until proven guil...ty" doesn't apply. My father admitted to being in the backyard nude a few times (stupid I know) but in general it's not illegal since there are people sunbathing nude in their backyard. He was adamant that he did not expose himself to anyone though. Each time I spoke with the detective (once on the phone, once when he came to our house to question me and my 3 y.o. nephew), I became more confused about the charges and the supposed witness statements because they would change. Although the detective was cordial, I knew I couldn't trust the police especially when I asked him if we needed to hire a lawyer. He said "oh, you don't have to, but you can try using a public defender if you feel you need it". Yeah, no thanks. I can't trust my father's life and freedom to someone who's ill prepared due to overloaded cases (I've seen how they are when I served jury duty). Once I went online and did some research into what the consequences are for these kinds of sex crimes, I was terrified for my dad and my whole family. If he was found guilty, he could go to jail but what's worse is that he would have to be registered as a sex offender. That means he couldn't even spend time with his grandchildren and since we live near a school, he wouldn't be able to live at the home that he's been in for the last 30 years. With an internal panic that I can't even begin to describe, I started looking for lawyers to help and found the Avvo website. I met with Shoup Law Group first and another law group in Van Nuys before finding Mike. The Shoup lawyer seemed inexperienced and the other lawyer was semi-retired. Both attorneys said that we would have to wait until my dad was officially charged before we could do anything. I also contacted another attorney for a consultation but never received a call back so I was ready to give up and go with one of the ones I already interviewed when I decided to give Mike a quick call toward the late afternoon. He actually answered the phone himself and was open to meeting with me and my dad within the next hour so we hustled over. Having been an ex-DA, Mike has a lot of contacts and most importantly, he said the right time to take care of this was before the police/City Attorney charged my father with anything. So I hired him on the spot. Being close to Christmas and New Years, I didn't hear anything for what felt like forever so my holidays were completely ruined by constant worries and fears. Mike finally made contact with the detective and we recently went to a City Attorney hearing with him present where they told us they would not file charges but we had to keep a constant eye on my father. We had been doing that since December but stepped it up further since. This was the best outcome that we could hope for except now the whole neighborhood is going after him (again, he's presumed guilty already). I know for sure that at least one of the witnesses lied because of recent statements they made. I panicked and Mike reassured me that he handled it and he'll continue to handle it. But at this point, although he has helped us deactivate one bomb, I feel like there's another one about to explode. I hope he continues to help us in the meantime. If you want someone to handle your case before you get in more trouble, hire Mike. He's always reachable although his responses may be short and quick. He won't have time to hold your hand but he will be the one working on your case and not a junior attorney.