Shakti Vadgama

Experienced, Effective &  Trustworthy

Vadgama Law has earned the reputation as one of the top Criminal & DUI defense law firms throughout Los Angeles County.

​Mr. Vadgama's first experience with criminal law came when he worked for the Chilean Ministry of Justice while studying and working abroad after his first year of law school in Santiago, Chile. Thereafter, Mr. Vadgama worked as a judicial extern in the criminal division of the San Diego Superior Court East County Division. As a judicial extern, Mr. Vadgama prepared bench memoranda for multiple judges on cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies, providing his recommendation on how each case should be determined when applying the facts to the applicable law. Mr. Vadgama also interned at a criminal defense firm, where he worked on various criminal cases and advocated on behalf of individuals serving life sentences at parole hearings. He helped and witnessed his supervising attorney win a parole hearing for an individual who successfully used the prison system to rehabilitate himself and change his life around after serving twenty-five years for second degree murder. This moment left a profound impact on Mr. Vadgama and made him realize that a career as a criminal defense attorney was his true calling.

Shakti Vadgama was born and raised in Los Angeles County and earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating from UCLA, Mr. Vadgama attended California Western School of Law in San Diego, where he developed a strong passion for advocating on behalf of individuals against entities that are in a position of power.

After law school, Mr. Vadgama spent the first year and one-half of his legal career as a plaintiff's employment law attorney, advocating on behalf of employees in all employment related matters. In his stint as an employment law attorney, Mr. Vadgama successfully negotiated and litigated on behalf of hundreds of clients in both State and Federal court.​

Following his brief stint as an employment law attorney, Mr. Vadgama established Vadgama Law and has dedicated his career towards criminal and DUI defense work, his true passion. Mr. Vadgama has been rated Top 10 in Client Satisfaction by the American Institute of DUI/DWI and Criminal Law Attorneys, has been recognized as a "Rising Star in the field of Criminal Law" by the American Institute of Legal Advocates, and has been received the Top 40 under 40 award by both the National Trial Lawyer and the American Academy of Attorneys.

Mr. Vadgama is licensed to practice law in all State courts throughout California and the United States District Court, Central District of California. Mr. Vadgama is also a member of the Los Angeles Bar Association, the Los Angeles Bar Association Criminal Justice Section, and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.