A View from the LASC’s Criminal Courts

Michael G. Freedman, Principal and Founder of the Freedman Firm, is an experienced trial attorney and former federal prosecutor who represents individuals and companies nationwide against all types of criminal charges and in high-stakes civil litigation and appeals. His clients, who often include executives, doctors, lawyers, celebrities, politicians and government officials, entrepreneurs, and cannabis companies, benefit from his courtroom skills, strategic guidance, and ability to discreetly navigate and successfully resolve the most challenging matters. Since founding the Firm in 2021, Freedman has avoided federal charges for dozens of clients, won the dismissal of numerous criminal charges even after filed, and has defeated criminal charges at trial, including winning an acquittal in the Southern District of New York and an acquittal of an attorney charged with criminal contempt.

Judge Ricardo Ocampo is the Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court. From 2016 to 2021, he served as the Supervising Judge of the South Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2008, Judge Ocampo served for 13 years as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. As a deputy district attorney, Judge Ocampo spent his career prosecuting violent felonies in the Major Crimes Division, Hardcore Gang Division, and Sex Crimes Division. In 2017, he was named Judge of the Year by the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section. In 2018, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys recognized Judge Ocampo as Judge of the Year. Judge Ocampo received his J.D. from Southwestern Law School and his B.A. from San Francisco State University. He is fluent in Tagalog and Spanish.