Criminal charges in Davidson County move through two parallel systems. State prosecutions proceed under Tennessee Code Title 39, with sentencing structured by the Range I through Range III classification in Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35. Federal indictments returned in the Middle District of Tennessee bring a separate procedural posture, where the United States Sentencing Guidelines, mandatory minimums under Title 21, and supervised release conditions reshape the strategic calculus from arraignment forward. Counsel who practice fluently in both forums understand how a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation evidence intake, a Drug Enforcement Administration wiretap affidavit, and a federal grand jury subpoena each require a distinct response.
Right to counsel attaches under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution. The three Nashville firms profiled below maintain active state and federal criminal trial dockets, hold the credentials that the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers track for continuing-legal-education currency, and have published track records in serious-felony defense, white-collar matters, and appellate review.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| McNally Law (Weatherly, McNally & Dixon, P.L.C.) | Tennessee bar admission 1982, Middle, Eastern, and Western District admission, Sixth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court admission, past TACDL President, AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell. | Federal white-collar, state felony defense, DUI and DWI, domestic-violence, sex-offense allegations, immigration-related criminal exposure, appellate and post-conviction work under TCA 40-30 and 28 U.S.C. 2255. |
| Raybin & Weissman, P.C. | Founded 1976, more than one hundred combined trial years across three attorneys, U.S. News Tier 1 placement for criminal defense in Nashville. | Murder and homicide defense, sexual assault, drug prosecutions through trafficking, domestic violence, corporate criminal exposure, healthcare fraud and Anti-Kickback Statute matters, appeals and post-conviction under 28 U.S.C. 2254, civil rights under 42 U.S.C. 1983. |
| Horst Law | Tennessee bar admission 1994, Middle District of Tennessee admission, NBTA Board Certification as Criminal Trial Specialist, more than 200 criminal jury trials over 25 years. | Sex-offense defense under TCA 39-13-501 through 39-13-526 and SORNA, state and federal drug crimes including Title 21 trafficking, domestic assault, violent-crime indictments, white-collar exposure, DUI and DWI, Tennessee sex-offender registry compliance. |
1. McNally Law (Weatherly, McNally & Dixon, P.L.C.) #
McNally Law operates from a Green Hills office at 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37215, with reachable phone (615) 480-8921. Patrick T. McNally founded his current practice configuration as part of Weatherly, McNally & Dixon, P.L.C. in 2009 after a state-court career that began with his 1982 admission to the Tennessee bar following a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Bar admissions across state and federal forums #
McNally’s federal bar admissions extend to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee, the Western District of Kentucky, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. That cross-jurisdictional admission set allows the practice to accept federal indictments returned in Nashville while remaining available for appellate work to the Sixth Circuit panel in Cincinnati and certiorari petitions to the Supreme Court when post-conviction posture warrants.
TACDL leadership and NACDL standing #
McNally served as President of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 1996 and remains active in NACDL membership. TACDL leadership requires sustained continuing-legal-education credit hours in criminal procedure, Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure doctrine, and Tennessee Rules of Evidence application. NACDL membership ties counsel into a national defense-bar information network covering federal sentencing trends, grand-jury practice, and prosecutorial-misconduct litigation.
Practice scope spanning white-collar and post-conviction work #
The office handles federal white-collar prosecutions, state felony defense, DUI and DWI matters, domestic-violence charges, sex-offense allegations, immigration-related criminal exposure, and appellate review in both state and federal courts. The post-conviction relief practice operates under Tennessee Code Annotated 40-30 and federal 28 U.S.C. 2255 motions, providing a route for sentence revisitation when constitutional issues emerge after direct appeal. McNally holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a U.S. News First-Tier ranking in criminal defense.
2. Raybin & Weissman, P.C. #
Raybin & Weissman, P.C. traces its Nashville origins to 1976, positioning the practice as one of the longest-running criminal defense firms in Davidson County. The downtown office sits at 511 Union Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN 37219, reachable at (615) 256-6666. David Louis Raybin, David Weissman, and Ben Raybin together hold over one hundred years of combined trial experience across Tennessee state courts and federal proceedings in the Middle District.
Five-decade Nashville criminal defense record #
A 1976 founding date places the firm’s institutional knowledge through every major revision of Tennessee criminal sentencing law, including the 1989 Criminal Sentencing Reform Act that established the current Range I through Range III classification under Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35. That continuity matters when defending charges where prior-conviction enhancement analysis depends on how a 1980s or 1990s judgment was classified, scored, and entered.
U.S. News Tier 1 recognition in criminal defense #
The office received Tier 1 placement in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Law Firms ranking for criminal defense. Tier 1 designation reflects peer-review responses, client-review responses, and prior recognition aggregated through the methodology that U.S. News applies to the Best Law Firms survey. The ranking covers the Nashville metropolitan market and signals sustained reputation among peer criminal defense and prosecutorial counsel in Davidson County.
Serious felony and appellate caseload #
The practice accepts murder and homicide defense, sexual-assault allegations, drug prosecutions ranging from simple possession through trafficking, domestic violence charges, corporate criminal exposure including healthcare-fraud and Anti-Kickback Statute matters, and criminal appeals and post-conviction proceedings. Appellate work routes to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3 for direct appeals and to the Court of Criminal Appeals or federal habeas review under 28 U.S.C. 2254 for post-conviction relief from state convictions. The firm also handles civil rights litigation involving excessive-force claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983.
https://www.nashvilletnlaw.com/
3. Horst Law #
Horst Law was opened by Brent Owen Horst in 1996 following seven years as a state prosecutor in Florida’s State Attorney’s Office and a tenure with the Tennessee Attorney General’s death-penalty division. The practice operates from 1201 South Graycroft, Nashville, TN 37115, reachable at (615) 403-2971. Horst earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1987 and was admitted to the Tennessee bar and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in 1994.
National Board of Trial Advocacy criminal trial certification #
Horst holds Board Certification as a Criminal Trial Specialist from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. The NBTA criminal trial advocacy certification credential is held by fewer than one percent of Tennessee’s roughly 26,000 licensed attorneys. The certification requires documented criminal jury trial experience, peer-reference attestations, a written examination, and continuing-legal-education credit hours specifically in criminal-law subject matter renewed on a five-year cycle.
Former-prosecutor perspective on case evaluation #
Seven years prosecuting felonies in Florida and subsequent work in Tennessee’s death-penalty division shaped how the practice reads charging decisions, plea-bargain positioning, and aggravating-factor allegations. That prosecutorial background informs pretrial motion practice on suppression of evidence under Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure 12 and Fourth Amendment doctrine, as well as expert witness retention for forensic, toxicology, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation chain-of-custody challenges.
Trial-tested practice in sex crimes and federal drug cases #
Horst has tried more than 200 criminal jury trials over a career spanning more than 25 years. The office focuses on sex-offense defense including allegations governed by Tennessee Code Annotated 39-13-501 through 39-13-526 and federal sex-offender-registration requirements under SORNA, state and federal drug crimes including Tennessee Drug Control Act prosecutions and Title 21 federal trafficking charges, domestic-assault matters, violent-crime indictments, white-collar exposure, DUI and DWI cases, and Tennessee sex-offender registry compliance proceedings.
https://www.criminalattorneysnashville.com/
Selection Methodology #
Criminal defense work in Davidson County runs through the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, and (for the federal docket) the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, so the filter for the three firms above started with which courts each attorney is admitted to practice in. Each lead attorney holds Tennessee Supreme Court bar admission verified through the Board of Professional Responsibility register, lists Middle District of Tennessee federal court admission where federal-charge work is on the menu, holds Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers membership, publishes trial-record detail (verdicts, dismissals, jury results) rather than only settlement language, and operates from a Davidson County office address with a Nashville criminal-court calendar history. National DUI-mill franchises and intake mills routing to non-admitted attorneys were excluded.
How to Choose Among These Three Nashville Criminal Defense Firms #
Charge type, forum, and procedural posture should drive the selection inquiry. A federal indictment in the Middle District of Tennessee calls for counsel admitted to that district and conversant with the United States Sentencing Guidelines, with both McNally Law and Horst Law holding M.D. Tenn. admission. A state-court murder, sexual-assault, or major drug indictment routing through the Davidson County Criminal Court fits the established trial dockets at all three offices. Post-conviction or appellate posture under Tennessee Code Annotated 40-30 or federal habeas under 28 U.S.C. 2254 and 28 U.S.C. 2255 should weight toward counsel with documented appellate track records, which both McNally Law and Raybin & Weissman, P.C. have published.
Bar credential verification can proceed through the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility license-status lookup. NBTA certification status can be confirmed through the National Board of Trial Advocacy directory. Federal bar admission is verifiable through the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee clerk’s office. TACDL and NACDL membership status is checkable through each association’s member directory.
Initial consultations at criminal defense offices typically address conflict-check clearance, retainer-agreement terms governed by Tennessee Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, scope-of-representation definition under Rule 1.2, and confidentiality obligations under Rule 1.6. Fee structures in Nashville criminal defense practice generally fall into three patterns: flat fees for discrete-scope matters (misdemeanor DUI, first-appearance representation, expungement petitions), tiered flat fees for felony defense priced by case phase (pre-indictment investigation, pretrial motion practice, trial work, appellate review billed separately), and hourly billing for federal white-collar engagements or post-conviction litigation where scope cannot be reliably forecast. Tennessee RPC 1.5 requires that the basis for fees, the responsibility for expenses, and the scope of representation be communicated in writing at the start of the engagement, so a prospective client should request the written engagement letter and the itemized fee structure before paying any retainer. Engagement on serious-felony defense in Nashville generally calls for early counsel involvement, before any custodial statement, charging instrument filing, or grand-jury subpoena response window closes.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: How does the firm communicate case status between major events?
A: Ask for the firm’s communication standard: how often the client receives a status update absent major activity, whether updates come by email or phone, and how documents flow to the client (portal, mail, encrypted email). A documented communication standard prevents client confusion during long quiet periods in litigation.
Q: What happens if the matter requires an attorney outside the firm’s practice area?
A: Ask the firm’s policy on referral to outside counsel for specialized issues that arise (tax, immigration, bankruptcy, appellate). Confirm whether referral fees are disclosed and whether the original firm continues as lead counsel or steps aside, so the client understands the structure and cost.
Q: Are any of the three firms paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No firm sponsored placement.
Q: How are settlement decisions and litigation strategy decisions made?
A: Under the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, the client makes the decision on settlement and on certain major case-strategy questions, while the lawyer guides tactics within the engagement. Confirm in writing that the firm will present every settlement offer, document client decisions, and seek written authorization for major strategic moves.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.