Sergio H. Benavides, a native of the East Bay Area, and Costa-Rican American, I am fully fluent in Spanish. I am a former Spanish bilinual elementary school teacher, and I strongly believe my teaching experiences have led to my many Not Guilty and Hung Jury verdicts. It's where I learned to tell a story, organized data, and speak to people in an interesting and entertaining way. You won't be falling asleep if you sit on my jury!
I spent over six years in Fresno as a Public Defender attorney, handling extremel heavy caseloads, helping thousands of poor clients. My experience includes assisting teens in the Juvenile Courts, with crimes as small as Petty Theft, to as serious as Assault With a Deadly Weapon, with Great Bodily Injury enhancements. I've done 11 Juvenile Trials, and love working with teens. Although many had had rough childhoods, and poor educations, I liked to think that these young people were moldable, and could always straighten out their lives and become productive citizens.
My vast Criminal Law experience includes a stint in the Misdemeanor courts, where I helped hundreds of clients cut deals with the most common charges, such as Driving Under the Influence, Domestic Violence, and Petty Theft. Afterward, I handled a very heavy Felony court department, doing both calendar assignments, and motions/trials. It was extremely valuable experience. My proudest victory was beating an Armed Robbery with a Gun charge. The client's family sent me a bouquet of roses!
I loved helping people from all walks of life: Mexican farmworkers, African Americans, Asian immigrants, and the urban poor. Everyone had a story tell, and many had the courage to fight for their rights and dignity at trial.
In my office, we now have had years of experience helping people obtain green cards, citizenship, applying for U visa, Feidy Deportation in Immigration court, and more.
I enjoy world travel, having visited Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, England, Ireland, France, and Morocco. I love sampling other people's foods, cultures, languages, and ways of life. Diversity is beautiful, and it is the best that the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer.
Our attorneys speak Spanish, English, Urdu/Hindi, and Farsi. Our office assistant speaks fluent Korean.
Practice areas
Family-based immigration. U Visa, Green Cards, Citizenship, Provisional Waiver, DACA renewal, Adjustment of Status
9 years
Misdemeanor & Felony cases. Expert in: DUI, Domestic Violence, Drug Sales, Weapons Possessions, Fraud, Expungements & Record Clearance.No traffic/speeding tickets.
15 years
reduction of Felonies to misdemeanors. Dismissal is cases. Vacating convictions for immigration purposes.
9 years
Languages spoken
Spanish, English, Hindi, Farsi, Korean, Urdu
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
CA | Active | 2005 | 06/10/2022 |
Award name | Grantor | Date Granted |
---|---|---|
Top 100 Criminal Trial Lawyers | National Trial Lawyers | 2015 |
Criminal Law Specialist | State Bar of California- Board of Legal Specialization | 2013 |
Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Attorney | Law Office of Sergio H. Benavides | 2014 - Present |
Defense Attorney | Fresno County Public Defender's Office | 2007 - 2013 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association | Member | 2015 - Present |
National College of DUI Defense | Member | 2015 - Present |
State Bar of California, Criminal Law Section | Member | 2015 - Present |
National Trial Lawyers | Top 100 Criminal Trial Lawyer | 2015 - Present |
Alameda County Bar Association, Criminal Law Section | Executive Committee Member | 2015 - Present |
American Immigration Lawyers Association | Member | 2014 - Present |
Californa Public Defenders Association | Member | 2007 - Present |
Bay Area Laywers for Individual Freedom | Member | 2003 - Present |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
University of San Francisco School of Law | JD - Juris Doctor | 2005 |
Antioch University- Seattle | MA - Masters | 1997 |
San Francisco State Unv | BA - Bachelor of Arts | 1993 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
20 Years Federal Prison for Erasing a Hard Drive? Yes | Federal Prosecutions Under Sarbanes-Oxley | 2015 |
Sunday Friends Educational Programming | What You Can Do to Help Friends and Familiy Facing Criminal Charges | 2014 |
Sunday Friends | Driving and the Law | 2014 |
Law Office of Sergio H. Benavides | Understanding the Criminal Justice System | 2014 |
Injured Workers National Network MCLE Seminar | Eliminating Bias and Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession and a Focus on Developing the Best Medical Evidence for Workers' Compensation Purposes | 2014 |
Case name | Outcome |
---|---|
People v. T.M. | plea bargain to Wet Reckless |
People v. S.K. | case dismissed |
People v. K.W. | case dismissed |
Posted by Zoya
June 14, 2022
Posted by Jermar
April 16, 2021
Posted by Juan
November 4, 2020
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August 16, 2019
Posted by Benjamin
December 20, 2016
Posted by anonymous
November 10, 2014
Posted by Janis
November 3, 2014
Eric Boeing, Criminal defense Attorney on Jan 29, 2018
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Sergio is a great lawyer. I know him to be incredibly smart, sharp-witted, and committed to fighting for his clients aggressively. He is a good, generous, & humane person too, and anyone who does a consultation with him will like him immediately.
Sana Abbasi, Immigration Attorney on Oct 21, 2016
Relationship: Worked together on matter
I endorse this lawyer.
David Beyersdorf, Criminal defense Attorney on Nov 10, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer.
Jennifer Zide, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 17, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I strongly endorse Mr. Benavides for criminal defense and immigration law. He is a highly-rated criminal law specialist with extensive experience and superb skills in his fields. You can count on him to fight for you and stand by you, no matter what. He is a person of integrity, who believes in the ideals of both criminal defense and immigration law, and who has dedicated himself to lifting up and defending the individual, and to creating opportunity. Mr. Benavides has devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to giving back to the community, to helping those in need, and to inspiring our youth. I am a fellow criminal defense attorney, Mr. Benavides is my "go to" referral for a criminal defense or immigration attorney for my friends and clients seeking the best possible representation in the Bay area.
David Dastrup, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 9, 2015
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer.
Adam Rodriguez, Criminal defense Attorney on Feb 5, 2015
Relationship: Co-worker
I endorse this lawyer. I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Benavides at the beginning of my career and quickly realized that Mr. Benavides is an intelligent and compassionate attorney.
Sean Cleary, Criminal defense Attorney on Dec 20, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I wholeheartedly endorse this lawyer. A brilliant, trustworthy and highly respected attorney in the legal community.
Sam Israels, Criminal defense Attorney on Nov 7, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse attorney Sergio Benavides. Demonstrates the highest levels of professionalism, zealousness and knowledge which he utilizes to obtain outstanding results for his clients.
Philip Israels, Criminal defense Attorney on Nov 7, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse attorney Sergio Benavides. Demonstrates an impressive knowledge of the law based on his accurate legal answers on Avvo. He is an asset to the legal field and respected by colleagues.
Michael LeMond, Criminal defense Attorney on Oct 26, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer!!!!
Matthew Nezhad, Criminal defense Attorney on Sep 23, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse attorney Sergio Humberto Benavides. Dedicated to his clients with a track record of success. Has earned respect from his clients and peers.
Peter Marek, Criminal defense Attorney on Jul 20, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse Sergio. As a former public defender he has handled thousands of criminal matters. Experience matters. If you are anywhere near Hayward you want a consultation with him in english or spanish.
Michael Waddington, Criminal defense Attorney on Jun 6, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse Sergio. He is a highly skilled attorney that is well respected in the legal community.
Arezou Bakhtjou, Criminal defense Attorney on May 20, 2014
Relationship: Co-worker
I highly endorse and recommend this lawyer. I have witnessed Sergio fight for his clients and have seen him win case after case for his clients. He is a zealous advocate and I was honored to be his co-worker at the public defender's office.
Christian Lassen, Unknown Attorney on Mar 27, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Top-notch lawyer. Highly respected in the legal community.
Jonathan Rooker, Criminal defense Attorney on Mar 14, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer. I interned under, and latter worked with Sergio at the Fresno County public defenders office. Sergio has earned his reputation as a hard working, fight to death criminal defense attorney who works hard for his clients, and gets results!
Vijay Dinakar, Unknown Attorney on Feb 2, 2014
Relationship: Worked together on matter
I endorse this lawyer.
Scott Levy, Criminal defense Attorney on Jan 18, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer....an absolute legal scholar!
Brian Andritch, Criminal defense Attorney on Jan 17, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
I endorse this lawyer.
Michael McKneely, Criminal defense Attorney on Jan 16, 2014
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
Mr. Benavides is an excellent attorney. He fights for his clients and stands firm in the face of overreaching prosecutors and judges. I endorse him without reservation.
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