Peter Francis Iocona

Peter F. Iocona is an Orange County criminal defense attorney with more than two decades of litigation and trial experience. His practice focuses on complex criminal defense matters in both state and federal courts, including cases involving significant exposure, evidentiary challenges, and professional licensing consequences.

Mr. Iocona is widely recognized for his depth of experience in DUI defense, including cases involving alcohol, drugs, alcohol and drugs, injuries, and vehicular manslaughter allegations. He has litigated thousands of DUI and Criminal Defense cases in Orange County and throughout Southern California. Mr. Iocona has taken more than 50 cases to trial. Mr. Iocona represents clients in serious felony and misdemeanor DUI and criminal cases, white collar criminal defense matters, and cases requiring coordinated trial strategy.

Mr. Iocona’s practice also includes professional licensing defense matters arising from or intersecting with criminal allegations. He also represents licensed professionals in administrative and regulatory proceedings and hearings where criminal conduct, fitness to practice, and disciplinary exposure overlap.

Mr. Iocona is committed to representing people across the entire State of California with challenges or accusations toward their professional license. Mr. Iocona represents professional licensees before the California Board of Medicine, the California Board of Registered Nursing, the California Board of Vocational Nursing & Psychiatric Technicians, the California Board of Psychology and the California Board of Behavioral Psychology, including Licensed Therapists and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT), California Real Estate Agents and California Real Estate Brokers, the California Board of Pharmacy, the California Board of Optometry, and the California Board of Accountancy.

Mr. Iocona also represents clients in serious personal injury matters involving catastrophic injuries, complex liability issues, and high-value claims. His personal injury work is selective and focused on cases where trial experience, evidentiary analysis, and litigation strategy materially affect outcomes, including matters involving commercial defendants, insurance coverage disputes, and significant damages.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Iocona began practicing law with the Law Office of Barry T. Simons, where he developed a strong foundation in criminal trial advocacy and later served as the firm’s Lead Trial Lawyer and Managing Attorney. From 2016 to 2025, Mr. Iocona was a founding partner and served in executive and trial leadership roles at The SoCal Law Network. He subsequently returned to his own practice, The Law Office of Peter F. Iocona, APLC.

Mr. Iocona holds an AVVO Rating of “Superb” (10.0) and OC Metro magazine listed him as one of the area's "Top-Rated DUI/Criminal Defense Attorneys in Orange County, California".

Mr. Iocona has been recognized by Super Lawyers, including designation as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2015. Mr. Iocona has been Super Lawyers "Rated" since 2015.

Mr. Iocona has been selected to The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 and America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys, and has been listed by OC Metro Magazine as a Top-Rated DUI and Criminal Defense Attorney. Mr. Iocona has also been designated a "Superior DUI Attorney" by The National Advocacy for DUI Defense (NAFDD).

In 2017, Mr. Iocona was first selected into the list of America's Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys based on his work on Criminal Defense cases. This designation is awarded to only a select few of each jurisdiction's best criminal defense attorneys.

Mr. Iocona has also been included in the National Association of Distinguished Counsel’s “Nation’s Top One Percent” and, in 2025, was added to the List of Lawyers of Distinction.

Mr. Iocona has a reputation for being a zealous advocate and a seasoned trial attorney and one of his case was even featured in an article that was published in the OC Weekly in 2016: "OC Judge Slams Prosecutor for Misconduct, Prosecutor Gets Promoted by DA Tony Rackauckus". This article is part of a lengthy series of articles by Scott Moxley of the OC Weekly regarding what has become known as the "Orange County Snitch Scandal". The article addresses the extent of Prosecutorial Misconduct in Orange County stating that "Prosecutorial cheating apparently extends to relatively minor trials, too.", which Mr. Iocona exposed in 2015 during the trial of The People of the State of California vs. Sandra Goelman.

Mr. Iocona has received extensive training and instruction in the area of DUI Drugs, a new arena in DUI defense in light of the increasing rate of those being charged with DUI Drugs after consuming their prescription medications. Attorney Peter F. Iocona has received "Drug Recognition Expert" instruction and served as an “Expert Panelist” for a seminar sponsored by the O.C. (Orange County) Crime Laboratory and the California Association of Toxicologists, which was entitled: DUI Drugs, Says Who?

From 2003 through 2016, Mr. Iocona served as a Contributing Editor to the two-volume treatise California Drunk Driving Law. Mr. Iocona is a member of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), the California DUI Lawyers Association (CDLA), the DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA), the California Association of Criminal Justice (CACJ), and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). Through these organizations, he has received advanced training in DUI and Criminal defense.