David M. Cantor Believes in Backing Up Passion with Hard Work

David Michael Cantor

is a criminal defense attorney at the Law Offices of David Michael Cantor in Phoenix, AZ. His boutique criminal defense firm has over 120 complete Jury trial acquittals, making David a well-known high profile

criminal defense attorney

. A few of his prominent criminal defense cases include the Michael Gherman Wal-Mart double capital murder trial, the acquittal of Sgt. Patrick Haab (who took 7 illegal immigrants into custody at gunpoint), and the acquittal of Valida Jo Elliot (the woman lost in the woods, who set a signal fire, burning more than 500,000 acres and 440 homes). Further, David Cantor represented Lisa Randall in the only capital murder dismissal with prejudice in Maricopa County. David is also managing partner at the Cantor Law Group focusing primarily on Family Law. Although David is a hard-worker, he is also a happily married and proud parent, approaching his 18 year wedding anniversary.

Legal Career

David grew up in Phoenix, the son of two successful attorneys. David's mother attained the highest bar exam score in both Arizona and California, and she was the

first female Chief of Criminal Appeals

at the Arizona Attorney General's Office. David's father litigated over 400 jury trials in his life. Growing up, David was surrounded by prosecutors. His father was a successful prosecutor as is his sister. However, after working as a prosecutor himself and winning all of his assigned thirty jury trials, David transitioned into

criminal defense

. After learning the ropes with a local firm for three and a half years, David started his own firm. His advice to new attorneys: “Don't hang your own shingle right away. You should work hard for another firm or the government and learn as much as possible. Treat your job as if it was your business.”

Strengths

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David is the kind of person that needs to figure things out for himself. In law school, David once received a standing ovation simply for showing up for a final exam. David was well known to show up only on the first day of class, study on his own, and then pass the final. This unconventional self-directed study habit helped pave the way to David's case preparation. David sits with a case until he has memorized all of the facts, the chronology, and all of the players. As a trial moves forward, David believes that even smallest difference in facts and testimony has a profound impact on witness credibility. David attributes some of his trial success to his ability to learn something as complicated as a nuclear reactor and then break down the concepts so that even a freshman in high school would understand it. However, the main characteristic he attributes to his success is his ability to focus for over 16 hours straight, which is derived from years of playing poker.

David's skills at playing poker and his attention to detail are both utilized during the jury selection process. David stated, “I watch everything.” As a WPT poker champion, David analyzes everything about a person, from what they wear, to body language, and even their tone of voice. David examines each juror from the top of their head down to the soles of their feet. David approaches jury selection with a high attention to detail as well as a calm poker face.

David has faced obstacles, but he knows he can outwork almost any obstacle there is. “If you have a problem that money can solve, then you don't have a problem.” According to David, “Prison and cancer, those are real problems.” This personal philosophy is not just talk, but an ingrained way of life. Five and a half years ago, David's home burned to the ground. The house was just remodeled and everything was lost. However, David chose to focus on the fact that nobody was hurt. In his mind, his home burning down was not real adversity; it was not prison and it was not cancer.

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Would you like to work with David? You better be able to back up your passion with hard work. David tells all his associates to “pretend these clients are your mother, father, brother, sister, daughter, or son. Always think about what you would want their lawyers to do.” In David's office, two actions are not allowed: “later and lazy.” Associates are told to look under every stone, and once that is done, the associates should be thinking of new stones to look under. David finds lazy and incompetent defense attorneys appalling; these attorneys are responsible for people's lives and freedom. Although David may not become a Facebook user anytime soon, he believes in connection. David's criminal office does not utilize voicemail, because he wants to ensure that when a client calls about their case that there is a live person available to talk with them.

David feels frustrated with the current state of Criminal Law. David observes that less and less cases are going to trial. A number of new attorneys are just hanging shingles, but they don't love it. This kind of attitude loses cases and “innocent people end up pleading guilty.” David believes in standing up for what is right. According to David, “my client will not eat an injustice. I will go up and down the legal system before I let anyone unjustly treat my client.” In five years, David knows he will be working in his office, and his office will be getting bigger and bigger wins. David admitted there is one thing that he puts above getting results for his client, his ethics.

If David could change something in the law, he would ensure innocent men and women did not go to prison. David pointed out that the general public will often focus on OJ Simpson, but most people will be unable to name one of the many people who were exonerated after years in prison. He believes there is nothing more unjust than an innocent person being executed or spending years in prison. Justice does not “guess” or “suppose” and connect the dots merely to convict someone of murder. David defines justice as when the jury follows the law, the evidence, and the instructions. Early in his criminal defense career, David lost a misdemeanor DUI case where he believed the man was 100% innocent, but the judge sided with the officer. It was a hard loss and David was shocked. Twenty years later it still bothers him.

Other Interests

When David is not litigating, he is exercising, doing Brazilian Jujitsu, or spending time with his family. As for sports, David enjoys a good football game, basketball game, or a great UFC fight. Currently, his favorite teams are the Suns, Diamondbacks, Coyotes, and Cardinals.

The Law Offices of David Michael Cantor are located at 1 E Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85004 and are available 24/7 at 602-307-0808.