My name is Mark Velez and thank you for visiting my site. I would like to take a moment to tell you about who I am and why I opened my own law practice. I was born and raised in Southern California. After completing high school, I started my passion for public service in law enforcement. With over 35+ years of combined law enforcement and criminal defense experience, I provide a robust defense for any criminal matter.
With a long history of law enforcement experience, I became an expert in every aspect of policing including policies and procedures, investigations, internal affairs, use of force, special operations, and personnel and training. I have been fortunate enough to hold every position including Police Officer, Field Training Officer, Sergeant, Detective, Detective Sergeant, Captain, and Chief of Police. I also have seen, and can spot, the things police do wrong, whether it's violating department policies or violating someone's Constitutional rights.
While working full time, I found a passion for learning, and continued my schooling. I enrolled at El Camino College and majored in Criminal Justice. After earning enough credits, I transferred to Redlands University where I earned a bachelor's degree in business management. I then earned a master's degree in public administration at California State University, Dominguez Hills, graduating with honors. Shortly after graduating, I attended the University of Southern California where I earned a PhD in public administration. After a two-year break in schooling, I went back to school at Southwestern Law School where I earned my JD and graduated with honors.
Over the past 23 years I have also taken great joy in teaching part time at several educational institutions. I started my teaching career at the University of Southern California where I taught statistics to undergraduate, graduate, and international graduate students. My teaching continued at California State University, Dominguez Hills where I have taught many classes including Environmental Practice of Public Administration, Criminal Justice Statistics, Applied Statistics for Public Administration, and Analytic Decision Making, Terrorism and Extremism. I also teach criminal procedure at the Pacific Coast University School of Law in Long Beach.
While in law enforcement, I saw how a bad arrest and/or conviction can hurt a person's future. I saw the injustices people faced at the hands of aggressive police tactics, overcharging, profiling and overzealous prosecution. That is why I opened my own law practice so I can use my law enforcement experience coupled with my criminal defense experience to provide the best possible representation.
My background makes my representation unique. I not only know the law, but I also understand policies and procedures of law enforcement, and their culture. This helps me spot obvious and not so obvious signs where errors were made that are not readily visible to others. Finally, my teaching experience allows me to explain your charges, and the justice system process in a way that you will clearly understand what is happening every step of the way. I understand that being involved in a criminal matter is very stressful and can affect all areas of your life, which is why I take the worry out of the process so you can start living again.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and pets. My favorite hobby is travelling to unique places and experiencing other cultures. I feel it's important to learn about other people and cultures. Some of the places I have traveled include Rwanda, Uganda, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, Greece, Mexico, Canada, France, England, Ireland, Panama, Egypt, Israel, Morrocco, and South Africa.
Recent Blog Posts
Have you been a victim of an illegal search by police?
Charged with Domestic Violence? Read this
What is Bail?
What should you do if you are pulled over? Here are some tips
Why should you hire the Law Office of Mark A Velez if you are arrested?
Recommendations
- I was wrongly arrested by the police on a felony charge. The district attorney flied a felony charge, and the department of family services opened an investigation. Fortunately, we hired Mark. He handled the criminal matter and the family services case. Mark was able to get the charges dropped an...
- Mr. Velez is The best lawyer I could have approached. This man fights every battle and does not give up until he sees room for correction. He did not give up on my case and was able to give me a fresh start that I have been praying for. He definitely goes the extra mile unlike any other lawyer.
- I was arrested on a gun charge and had to go to court. I have never been arrested before, so I didn't know what to expect. I got Mark's name from a friend who had a great experience with Mark. Mark was great, not what I expected from a lawyer. He listened to my experience, asked about how I was d...
- Service was great! Always there if I had questions and took the time to call me. Got me a good deal in a short time and the trial went very well! You will do well with Mr Velez as your attorney.
- I was arrested and Mark was referred to me. Mark talked me though the legal process and kept me informed. Mark was professional and treated me with respect. He went to court several times and brought the case to a great conclusion. I could not be happier. I highly recommend Mark to anyone needing...
- I had a case during the pandemic which made it difficult to ready up and prepare for court how one should, I took a chance when I chose this law firm to represent me and im really glad I did…was really professional plus I was more than satisfied with the outcome of my case
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Mark treated me as a human, not as a dollar sign. And got my case dismissed!
I had a 22-year-old bench warrant and I'm so glad I hire this attorney to take care of my case, I was in fear of possibly going to jail and he reassured me that I would not have any jail time and he is so successful he got my case dismissed, I am able to put this situation behind me and move forw... - Mark Velez is a professional in every sense of the word. He made my process with the court painless and was incredibly helpful every step of the way. He was very accessible, and his guidance and services resulted in my case being dismissed.
- Mark was outstanding and shined with his calm demeanor throughout my case. The DA came to me at the end telling me Mark was very convincing and insightful with his words and knowledge. I would highly recommend his services.
- Mark was a great help for my case. He was well-prepared, confident, and informative throughout the entire process. Everything went smoothly, and I couldn't have asked for a better result.
- If you are thinking about paying for one of those ticket clinics, DON'T. Go with a professional like Mark. When I reached out to him, he gave me all the information I needed to decide if I wanted to retain his legal advice. Of course, I did. Mark was communicative and kept me up to date with my c...
- Mark made the entire case go very smoothly and made me feel very comfortable and confident. I didn't have to say much since he prepared everything so well to for the judge. Thank you Mark Highly recommended
- Best lawyer I've ever worked with, amazing guy and amazing results. I honestly recommend him to anybody, saved my behind!
- I was arrested for having a loaded gun in my car. A friend recommended Mark to me so I called him. Mark listened to me and explained the likely outcomes of my case. In the end, I got a great outcome. Mark went to court for me and I only had to show up once. Thank you so much!
- Mr. Mark Velez did a great job for me. He was very caring, accurate, honest, responsive, supportive, helpful, encouraging and very professional in all me case stages. I get the best results through the great man Mr. Mark Velez Very Highly recommend to anyone. Thank you so much Mr. Mark, the great...
- Mr. Mark Velez did a great job for me. He was very caring, accurate, honest, responsive, supportive, helpful, encouraging and very professional in all me case stages. I get the best results through the great man Mr. Mark Velez Very Highly recommend to anyone. Thank you so much Mr. Mark, the great...
- I hired Mark to handle my criminal defense matter. I was arrested for a crime and Mark provided a great defense. Ultimately, the matter was dismissed. Mark explained everything to me and made sure I understood everything from start to finish. Mark communicated with me, and quickly responded to my...
- I am extremely grateful to Mark for his help in resolving the harassment of a person that was stalking me. Mark was able to resolve this issue for me quickly and without any issue by giving notice to cease and desist the behavior of stalking, harassment, and intimidation. Mark's calm and caring m...
