Honest and Straightforward Legal Advice and Advocacy
Lester Paredes III
Lester M. Paredes III is a licensed attorney in California and Nevada focusing on family law and criminal law. Mr. Paredes, a US Airforce veteran, graduated from Georgetown Law School in May 2008 and began his legal career at the Clark County Office of the Public Defender in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a deputy public defender, Mr. Paredes served the public by representing indigent adults accused of nearly every type of crime from DUI to theft, burglary, robbery, gun crimes and those accused of being habitual offenders. In 2011 Mr. Paredes entered private practice as a criminal defense and family law attorney and has been practicing both ever since.
Mr. Paredes's approach to the practice of law is grounded in the belief that everyone is human, deserves empathy, understanding and compassion. In 2014, Mr. Paredes attended and graduated from the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming. The three-week advanced trial skills course focused on the human aspects of practicing law and discovering and telling a client's story using truth-in-action methods and in a way that is real, true and resonant.
Mr. Paredes is a Fourth Amendment scholar and in 2009, was published in the Criminal Law Bulletin. The article, The Travelers' Privacy Protection Act: Be Reasonable with My Private Information and Expensive Equipment, 45 Crim. L. Bull. 1-41 (2009), canvasses the constitutional rights implicated by warrantless and suspicionless searches of digital information at the nation's border while arguing laptops are distinguishable from luggage, making such searches illegal. In 2015, Mr. Paredes was honored to be recognized by UNLV and accept the David VanBuskirk Community Partnership Award for his work with the Criminal Justice Department and UNLV Mock Trial Team. In 2018, Mr. Paredes continued his commitment to public service by starting and coaching the mock trial team at San Jose State University.
In 2022, Mr. Paredes continues to volunteer his time at San Jose State University and Laguna Middle School as a mock trial coach.
Education
University of Southern California, Bachelors of Arts, 2005
Georgetown School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2008
Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, 2014
Admissions
State Bar of California
State Bar of Nevada
United States District Court of Nevada, Southern District
United States District Court of California, Northern District