Michael P Cognata

This man is seriously very professional & to the point. He saved my Family life, career & FREEDOM!!!!! I cannot say enough great things about this man!!! He kept me informed on my case every step of the way, had alot of charges dropped & court fees waived. I was looking at possibly 2 months of jail t...ime in Ventura County(the strictest on DUI in the nation in fact) & had it all waived!!!! If you need a DUI/DWI lawyer I truly recommend you give Mr. Cognata a call. I worked with other lawyers before & all they did was care about the money aspect, this Gentleman really cares about you & your needs.... Calms you down with facts which is very refreshing, no B.S. type of guy which is what I needed.

I am an attorney and was referred to Michael through a friend (who is also an attorney) for my DUI case. Michael Cognata represented me admirably. My case, despite a high alcohol level allegation was dismissed and the DMV hearing won on technical issues found by Michael through his investigations. He... kept me informed along the way,, answered my questions and emailed me police documents the day he received them himself. I could not have asked for better.

O.K. THIS IS MY SECOND REVIEW. MICHAEL DID GOOD ON CALLING ME BACK AND GIVING ME HOPE. SEEMED PRETTY KNOWLEGDABLE. AS FOR MY CASE, IT WAS MY SECOND D.U.I.. I WAS 2 DAYS AWAY FROM BEING OFF PROBATION FROM THE FIRST D.U.I. MICHAEL HAD BOTH CASES PUT TOGETHER (THE VIOLATION AND NEW CHARGE) AT NO EXT...RA COST (EASY TO DO BOTH CASES SAME COUNTY) THIS WAS APPRECIATED. AS FOR MY CASE, THE PROSECUTOR OFFERED 18 DAYS, 18 MONTH CLASSES, D.U.I. AND $1850 FINE. I WAS NOT ABLE TO GET ANY BRAKES NOT EVEN A REDUCTION TO WET AND RECKLESS EVEN THOUGH BOTH PROSECUTOR AND MR. COGNATA BOTH AGREED TOGETHER IT WAS A B.S PULL OVER. I ASKED WHAT SHOULD I DO BUT WAS TOLD THAT THE DECISION WAS MINE BUT WE COULD GET SCREWED IF WE PURSUED IT AND THE PROPER PEOPLE CALLED IN AS WITNESSES. IM SURE 1 OF THE WITNESSES WOULD OF CAME AS HE WAS A RETIRED MARSHALL THAT I GOT IN AN ARGUMENT WITH. SO I PLEAD GUILTY. MICHAEL DID HIS JOB, BUT I ASK MYSELF IF HE COULD VE GOT ME SOMETHING LESS AT ALL? NO WET AND RECKLESS, NO LESSER DAYS, NOTHING WITH DRIVERS SAFETY, HE DID MANAGE TO SNEAK IN THE DEAL 3 YEAR PROBATION (SOMETIMES JUDGES WILL GIVE YOU 5 YEAR PROBATION ON SECOND OFFENSE). I WAS GRATEFUL FOR THIS TACTIC. AS FOR THE VIOLATION, THE PROBATION WAS REINSTATED ALONG WITH THE NEW PROBATION (BUT YOUR PROBATION ON ANY ONE OFFENSE CAN NOT RUN LONGER THEN 5 YEARS, SO I WILL BE OFF THE VIOLATION IN 2 YEARS AND 1 YEAR LATER OFF CURRENT PROBATION, MR. COGNATA GAVE ME THIS INFO). ALL IN ALL IT WAS GREAT TALKING TO THE GUY AND MEETING THE GUY, BUT ON ANOTHER NOTE I FEEL I WOULD VE GOTTEN THE SAME DEAL WITH A PUBLIC DEFENDER AS I GOT WHAT THE PROSECUTOR OFFERED AND NOTHING LESS. COULD MR. COGNATA DONE MORE FOR ME? I DON'T KNOW? THIS IS NOT TO WRITE ANYTHING POSITIVE NOR NEGATIVE IN ANY WAY TOWARDS MR. COGNATA, I HAVE JUST TOLD YOU EXACTLY MY CASE AND DEALINGS HOW I HAD IT WITH NO B.S. WOULD I USE HIM AGAIN? I WOULD FIRST USE A PUBLIC DEFENDER AND SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU FIRST. LET THEM DO THE WORK AND IF NOTHING GETS DONE, THEN CALL AN ATTORNEY TO TAKE OVER. THANKS FOR READING.

I hired Michael for my DUI case and told him that the case was in the wrong court. The morning of the first court date, he discovered that it was in a court 50 miles away and since they filed the case that morning there was no way of discovering my mistake until 9 am! Not only did he go immediately... to that court to handle the case, but he didn't charge me extra or get mad or anything even though I gave him the wrong place and time. He kept me and my father updated 1-2times per week and won my DMV hearing and got my DUI reduced to a traffic ticket. He is a great lawyer, got me a great result, but beyond that, he communicated with us and was very personable.

I can’t say enough about this law firm and the attorney who represented me. This is the first time I have ever been in this situation. Michael Cognata kept me informed regularly prior to the court date and was able to get the police reports early. When He read them he told me that the blood test w...as inconclusive and the cop did not have the credentials to testify as a expert. He wrote a letter to the D.A. outlining the problems and urging the case to be dismissed. And when the case came for the first court date, the prosecutor rejected the case! I was so excited when I heard the news. This was the best result possible and I was lucky to get it and I have Mr. Cognata to thank for it. As a side note, I have no DMV punishment either. My only regret is that I was never able to thank him in person, never having met the man. But we are now dealing with asking the courts to destroy all records of the arrest!