Pamela Nicholson PLC is a small law firm that is selective about the number of cases that it elects to handle.

Pamela Nicholson has been a lawyer for nearly three decades. She is first and foremost a criminal defense trial attorney. On a typical day she might handle the most serious felonies, such as murder, sex offenses, child abuse, or fraud, in addition to misdemeanor and felony DUIs.

Pamela Nicholson’s legal practice is broader than pure criminal defense. Allegations of professional misconduct can have life-changing consequences. The loss of a professional license can be devastating. A school disciplinary action, whether in middle school or graduate school, can bring academic studies to a halt. In addition, professional misconduct and academic disciplinary matters can potentially have serious criminal consequences. A DUI involves more than a criminal prosecution. Driving privileges can be suspended or revoked, an interlock device may be required and a car may be impounded. Property can be seized for forfeiture in connection with a variety of criminal charges. Cases that have an unfortunate outcome must be appealed. All of these services are available.

Pamela Nicholson has a reputation for meticulous attention to detail. Case investigation and trial preparation frequently involve hiring and consulting with skilled private investigators and scientific experts. By the time a case gets to trial, Pamela is prepared to deal with every detail of a case.

Respect and compassion are the lynchpins of her practice. She is acutely aware that her clients are facing what may be the biggest battle of their lives in a criminal justice system where the deck is stacked against them. Pamela Nicholson has the skill and experience to obtain a fair and just outcome.
Among the cases that that the firm handles are:

• Homicide – all degrees of murder including death penalty
  
• Sex offenses
  
• Child abuse
  
• Assault
  
• Theft and robbery
  
• Fraud and RICO
  
• Drugs
  
• DUI – misdemeanor and felony
  
• Professional licensing – medical, legal, teaching, etc.
  
• Academic misconduct and school discipline

Personal background

Pam was born in Warren, Pennsylvania and grew up in Lawrence Park, a small community just outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. After graduation from college and a wedding in the college chapel, she arrived in Phoenix in 1979. After fourteen years in Arizona, including five years in private practice in Prescott during which she developed a passion for representing the mentally disabled offender, she relocated to Boston in 1993 to pursue a Master in Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She thoroughly enjoyed Boston and, during her twelve years there, became a die-hard Red Sox fan. In 2005, she returned to friends and family in Phoenix and, in 2006, she opened her own law firm – Pamela Nicholson PLC.

Pam raised two boys as a single mother, both of whom are now adults. One son has a successful business in Chandler and the other is a classically trained chef in Boston. She is a proud grandmother of three.

In her limited free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and her dog, a bichon named Bruce Springsteen.

Education

• MPA ’94 Harvard Kennedy School Cambridge, MA
  Concentration on the Mentally Disabled Offender
  
• JD ’84 Arizona State University College of Law Tempe, AZ
  
• BA ’79 Allegheny College Meadville, PA
  Psychology
  
• 1975 Iroquois Junior-Senior High School Lawrence Park, PA

Career Highlights

• 1982 Legal intern, US Senator Dennis DeConcini Washington, DC
  
• ’88 – ’93 Criminal defense lawyer Prescott, AZ
  Developed special interest and recognized expertise in representing the mentally disabled offender, in both involuntary civil commitments and competency to stand trial
  
• ’94 – ’96 Director of the Office for Human Rights,
  Massachusetts Dep’t of Mental Retardation Boston, MA
  
• ’98, ’01 Guest faculty, Trial Advocacy Workshop, Criminal Justice Institute
  Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA
  
• ’00 – ’04 Commonwealth v. Bernard Baran Boston, MA
  Investigated and wrote the 300 page brief that ultimately resulted in the release and exoneration of Bee Baran, who had been wrongfully convicted in the day care sex abuse hysteria that swept the US in the mid-1980’s

Professional memberships

• American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section
  
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  
• Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Social memberships

• Harvard Alumni Association – Phoenix
  
• Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Association – Phoenix