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Emergency Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Louis, MO (2026)

Top 50 of 221 criminal defense lawyers, in emergency orderUpdated 0 paid placements in this rankingHow we rank

25 of the 50 criminal defense lawyers on this list post 24/7 hours. 24/7 law firms come first, then same-day, each ranked by LFR Score with availability weighted higher.

If you or someone you know is arrested: you can stay silent and ask for a lawyer before answering questions. Calls from jail are usually recorded, so do not discuss the facts of the case on them.

The short answer

  1. 1

    #1 for emergency criminal defense in St. Louis: Combs Waterkotte, open 24/7.

Rankings can't be bought. Lawyers can't pay to change their rank or score. How we rank

Top emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis at a glance

Ranked by our published LFR Score from public data, not by payment; a rank is not an endorsement or a prediction of results.

Top emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis at a glance
RankBusinessLFR ScoreGoogle ratingBased inHours
1Combs Waterkotte754.9★ (541)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
2Traffic Law & DWI Counselors® 45BUCKS.com®755.0★ (472)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
3Rose Legal Services, LLC - DWI & Criminal Defense Attorney744.9★ (399)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
4JCS Law - John C Schleiffarth, P.C.734.9★ (237)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
5Traffic Ticket Headquarters® 45BUCKS.com®735.0★ (174)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
6Traffic Legal Center® Traffic Law Counselors® 45BUCKS.com®725.0★ (144)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
7Traffic Ticket Headquarters® 45BUCKS.com®724.9★ (142)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
8Frank & Juengel Law Group P.C.714.9★ (103)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
9The Law Offices of Brian J. Cooke714.9★ (99)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)
10MGM LAW LLC705.0★ (59)St. LouisOpen 24 hrs (Google)

Call an emergency criminal defense lawyer in St. Louis now

24-hour hours mean the firm lists itself as open around the clock on Google; that does not show its phone is answered. A lawyer may not be able to visit a jail or appear in court the same day: ask what they can do now and what it costs before you agree.

The 50 emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis, ranked

24/7 first, then same-day service, then the rest. Each group is in LFR Score order on emergency weights. The full ranking of all 221 is on the criminal defense lawyers page.

Ranked by our published LFR Score from public data, not by payment; a rank is not an endorsement or a prediction of results.

Scores below: based on 7 of 9 factors; bar status and recency not yet collected. Hatched segments mark factors we don't have yet.

  1. Ranked #1 in St. Louis

    #1 Combs Waterkotte

    Based in St. Louis

    75/100LFR Score

    Ranked #1 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 541 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.9★ from 541 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    231 S Bemiston Ave Ste 1100, St. Louis, MO 63105
    View profile for Combs Waterkotte(314) 900-4357

  10. #10 MGM LAW LLC

    Based in St. Louis

    70/100LFR Score

    Ranked #10 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 59 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 5.0★ from 59 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    3407 S Jefferson Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118
    View profile for MGM LAW LLC(573) 823-3180

  11. #11 Wittner Law

    Based in Clayton, 8 mi away

    69/100LFR Score

    Ranked #11 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 82 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.9★ from 82 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    107 S Meramec Ave, Clayton, MO 63105
    View profile for Wittner Law(314) 406-5006

  12. #12 Cory Easton, P.C.

    Based in Belleville, 14 mi away

    69/100LFR Score

    Ranked #12 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 141 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.9★ from 141 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    117 N 2nd St, Belleville, IL 62220
    View profile for Cory Easton, P.C.(618) 355-7500

  14. #14 Goldfarb Law Group

    Based in Clayton, 8 mi away

    68/100LFR Score

    Ranked #14 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 54 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.9★ from 54 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    222 S Meramec Ave Ste 203, Clayton, MO 63105
    View profile for Goldfarb Law Group(314) 266-9999

  15. #15 Matt Fry - DWI Attorney

    Based in Clayton, 8 mi away

    68/100LFR Score

    Ranked #15 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 47 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 5.0★ from 47 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    120 S Central Ave #130, Clayton, MO 63105
    View profile for Matt Fry - DWI Attorney(314) 862-4332

  16. #16 Worman Law LLC

    Based in St. Louis

    68/100LFR Score

    Ranked #16 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.8★ from 22 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.8★ from 22 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    222 S Meramec Ave Ste 203, St. Louis, MO 63105
    View profile for Worman Law LLC(314) 695-9529

  21. #21 Russek Law Group

    Based in Clayton, 8 mi away

    66/100LFR Score

    Ranked #21 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 5.0★ from 20 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 5.0★ from 20 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    222 S Meramec Ave, Clayton, MO 63105
    View profile for Russek Law Group(314) 648-5386

  22. #22 Kielty Law

    Based in Saint Charles, 20 mi away

    66/100LFR Score

    Ranked #22 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.6★ from 83 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.6★ from 83 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    60 Hill Pointe Ct Suite 202, St Charles, MO 63303
    View profile for Kielty Law(636) 940-7771

  24. #24 Wayne T. Schoeneberg

    Based in Saint Charles, 19 mi away

    66/100LFR Score

    Ranked #24 because of its Google rating and practice area focus: 4.9★ from 50 Google reviews, listed on Google as “Criminal justice attorney”.

    • 4.9★ from 50 Google reviews
    • Open 24/7
    Hours
    Open 24 hours, 7 days
    Address
    223 N Main St, St Charles, MO 63301
    View profile for Wayne T. Schoeneberg(314) 708-1000

Top 50 of 221 criminal defense lawyers by emergency score

#1 to #25 are shown in full above. Here are #26 to #50, in LFR Score order; each links to its profile.

criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis, ranks 26 to 50
RankBusinessLFR ScoreGoogle ratingDistance
26Mick Henderson664.4★ (7)In St. Louis
27Combs Waterkotte664.8★ (26)13 mi
28First Defense DUI Traffic Law644.7★ (15)16 mi
29Traffic Law Counselors St. Louis 45BUCKS.com®625.0★ (198)8 mi
30The Hammer Law Firm, LLC614.4★ (158)In St. Louis
31Traffic Law Counselors® St Charles 45BUCKS®614.9★ (432)19 mi
32Law Office of Jason B. Going604.9★ (168)12 mi
33Henderson Law Group, P.C.605.0★ (39)In St. Louis
34Nicholas R Brockmeyer - Attorney at Law595.0★ (187)19 mi
35Braeske Christopher594.2★ (15)In St. Louis
36Law Office of Robert Brooks Ramsey, LLC595.0★ (9)In St. Louis
37The Lampin Law Firm LLC584.8★ (254)25 mi
38The Hagemeister Law Firm584.7★ (50)16 mi
39Carter Law Offices LLC 45BUCKS.com®585.0★ (120)21 mi
40DWI Lawyer Centers® DwiStL.com®574.9★ (12)In St. Louis
41Smith Brown, L.L.C.574.7★ (10)In St. Louis
42Scott B. Meyer, Attorney at Law564.3★ (17)14 mi
43Bradley S Dede Law Firm554.3★ (11)8 mi
44Traffic Counsel, LLC544.7★ (250)In St. Louis
45Traffic Law Stop534.7★ (323)7 mi
46Raghebi Law LLC - Traffic, DWI, & Criminal Defense Firm535.0★ (203)8 mi
47KesslerWilliams525.0★ (88)In St. Louis
48Kissell Law Group LLC525.0★ (162)7 mi
49Bert Fulk, Attorney at Law525.0★ (423)19 mi
50The Civella Law Firm525.0★ (124)8 mi

How we ranked emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis

Emergency lists move 10 points of the LFR Score from reputation to availability: 15% and 15%. Availability credits 24/7 hours, same-day service, weekend hours and weekly open hours. 24/7 criminal defense lawyers are listed first, then same-day, then the rest; ranks follow that order. Paid placement never changes a rank.

Paid placement never changes a rank or score. Attorney advertising businesses are paid, labelled, limited to 3 and shown above the ranking, outside it.

Read the full method: formula, sources and exclusions

LFR Score factors and weights
FactorWeightComputed from
Reputation15%Google star rating, adjusted for how many reviews back it
Bar status10%An active bar or law society record matched to a lawyer at the firm (not measured until a record source is loaded)
Review volume10%Number of Google reviews, compared with the most-reviewed firm on the list
Recency10%Share of reviews from the last 12 months
Availability15%Weekly office hours, Saturday, Sunday, and phones answered 24/7
Practice focus15%How clearly the firm practises this area (its Google category and name)
Proximity5%An office in the city scores highest, less the farther away it is
Claimed profile10%The firm has claimed its Law Firms Ranked profile (free and paid earn the same)
Law Firms Ranked reviews10%Verified client reviews collected by Law Firms Ranked: their rating and how many there are

Emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis: questions

Which criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis are open 24/7?

25 on this list post 24/7 hours, including Combs Waterkotte, Traffic Law & DWI Counselors® 45BUCKS.com®, Rose Legal Services, LLC - DWI & Criminal Defense Attorney, JCS Law - John C Schleiffarth, P.C. and Traffic Ticket Headquarters® 45BUCKS.com®.

Who is ranked #1 for emergency criminal defense in St. Louis, MO?

Combs Waterkotte is #1, with an LFR Score of 75 out of 100 on emergency weights.

How are emergency criminal defense lawyers in St. Louis ranked?

Emergency lists move 10 points of the LFR Score from reputation to availability: 15% and 15%. Availability credits 24/7 hours, same-day service, weekend hours and weekly open hours. 24/7 criminal defense lawyers are listed first, then same-day, then the rest; ranks follow that order. Paid placement never changes a rank.

What should I do before the criminal defense lawyer arrives?

If you or someone you know is arrested: you can stay silent and ask for a lawyer before answering questions. Calls from jail are usually recorded, so do not discuss the facts of the case on them.

How many emergency criminal defense lawyers here list a phone number?

25 of the 25 law firms ranked in full list a phone number. Tap Call to dial it.

Update log for St. Louis

  1. November 2026: LFR Scores recalculated for 221 criminal defense lawyers serving St. Louis.

More emergency and criminal defense pages

Other emergency practice areas in St. Louis