Yannetti Criminal Defense Law Firm

David Yannetti

Boston Criminal Defense Attorney David Yannetti’s polished trial skills and professional demeanor have earned him the respect and admiration of clients, peers, competitors and judges throughout Massachusetts and the country. Attorney Yannetti has successfully tried important, high-stakes cases that were broadcast gavel-to-gavel on Court TV, New England Cable News and other networks, earning high praise from other commentators and legal experts. Mr. Yannetti himself has appeared as a legal analyst on Fox News, CNN, and I.D. Channel. Attorney Yannetti competed in the 2008 “Battle of the Lawyers” sponsored by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a charity event designed to showcase masterful trial lawyers re-creating their famous closing arguments. Attorney Yannetti was chosen by a celebrity jury to have given the “Most Compelling Argument”, thereby naming him the winner of the event. Boston Magazine 2021 “Super Lawyer” Attorney Yannetti has been selected to the exclusive Massachusetts and New England “Super Lawyers” list in Boston Magazine every year since 2007. In order to be named a “Super Lawyer,” an attorney must survive a rigorous and discerning selection process. Lawyers nominate other lawyers, who are then evaluated by a blue-ribbon panel consisting of top attorneys within each practice area. The blue-ribbon panel considers such factors as an attorney’s honors and awards, his experience, his scholarly lectures and writings, his education and employment background and other outstanding achievements. In the end, only 5% of Massachusetts lawyers are selected for inclusion in the Super Lawyers list. Attorney Yannetti is proud to be among them, as a highly rated criminal defense attorney. Read Attorney Yannetti’s Super Lawyers profile page. An “AV- Rated,” Pre-Eminent Lawyer Attorney Yannetti has earned an “AV” Rating* – the highest rating possible – from the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings* every year since 1999. These ratings reflect the confidential opinions of judges and fellow lawyers regarding two aspects of an attorney’s practice: his or her legal ability and general ethical standards. An AV-Rated attorney is recognized to be pre-eminent in the practice of law and highly ethical. In fact, Attorney Yannetti’s AV Rating has qualified him for inclusion in The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers* every year since 1999. Only 5% of all U.S. law firms qualify and are included — confirming that Attorney Yannetti is one of the most distinguished and respected criminal defense lawyers in the country. One of the “Best Lawyers in America” for 2021 U.S. News and World Report recently named Attorney Yannetti one of the “Best Lawyers in America” for the second straight year and featured him in its magazine. According to its website, “Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere. [The] lists of outstanding attorneys are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for an attorney are positive enough for inclusion in Best Lawyers, that attorney must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain on the list for each edition.” Teaching Experience / Professional Associations Attorney Yannetti has lectured at Boston University Law School, Boston College Law School, and Suffolk University Law School. He has also instructed fellow attorneys in courses sponsored by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Attorney Yannetti is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Massachusetts Trial Lawyers Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association. Education / Awards Mr. Yannetti attended Boston College Law School, where he won the following awards for outstanding oral advocacy: • Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Gill Award for Outstanding Mock Trial Participant • Hardy C. Dillard Award for Outstanding Brief in Jessup International Moot Court Competition. • Northeast Regional Mock Trial Competition Champion • Northeast Regional Jessup International Moot Court Competition Champion • Boston College Law School Mock Trial Competition Champion • Boston College Law School Grimes Moot Court Competition Finalist Mr. Yannetti represented Boston College Law School in the Jessup International Moot Court World Competition in Chicago, Illinois. He also represented the law school in the National Trial Competition in Dallas, Texas. It was the first time in the history of the school that a student participated in both competitions.

Education: Boston College Law School

Greg L. Johnson

In January 2011, Attorney Yannetti handpicked Attorney Greg L. Johnson to join him at the Yannetti Johnson after the two attorneys had battled each other in a highly contested and lengthy gun case in the Lawrence District Court. At the time, Greg was working as a prosecutor for the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. Attorney Yannetti viewed first-hand the skill Greg exhibited, as well as the respect he commanded from judges and court personnel. Attorney Yannetti was so impressed that he offered Greg an associate’s position in the firm. Attorney Greg L. Johnson has established himself as a true rising star in the criminal-defense bar. In both 2020 and 2021 Attorney Johnson was named to Massachusetts Super Lawyers, a selection process limited to those who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Between 2013 – 2018 he was nominated as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers six consecutive years. Only 2.5% of eligible attorneys nationwide are honored with the “Rising Star” distinction. This accolade further cemented Attorney Johnson’s growing reputation for top-level representation in criminal courts throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. For the press release issued by our firm in November of 2013 announcing this honor, click on the following link: Super Lawyers Rising Star During his career as an assistant district attorney, Greg L. Johnson gained invaluable trial experience, which included his representation of the Commonwealth as lead counsel in approximately fifty jury trials. In 2008, he was selected to work under the Project Safe Neighborhood Grant funded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His responsibilities in that position included prosecuting all firearms and gang-related offenses in the City of Lawrence. In that role, Attorney Johnson handled a wide variety of serious felony cases, including shootings, assaults by means of dangerous weapons, narcotics distribution and firearms cases. In 2008, the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association selected Greg to receive the Spotlight Award which is issued annually to prosecutors in recognition of outstanding service, spirit, and professionalism. Attorney Johnson was promoted in January of 2010 to the position of Supervising ADA at the Lawrence District Court, one of the five busiest courts in the Commonwealth. He was responsible for the training and supervision of ten Assistant District Attorneys. Before leaving the District Attorney’s Office, Attorney Johnson presented approximately ten serious felony cases to the Grand Jury and handled those matters in the Essex County Superior Court. Attorney Greg L. Johnson’s extensive experience and substantial growth as a trial lawyer are integral components of his success at the Yannetti Johnson. His ability to assess, analyze, and exploit the weaknesses in the prosecutor’s cases against his clients is a tool that informs his daily approach to our cases inside and outside the courtroom. Attorney Greg L. Johnson graduated from the Suffolk University Law School in May of 2005, cum laude. While at Suffolk Law School, Greg achieved Dean’s List recognition every semester. He was also selected to be a member of the prestigious Suffolk University Law Review. He worked as a Note Editor while on the Law Review and was honored at the conclusion of his first year at Suffolk with the Honorable Mention Award in the 2006 Best Brief Competition. Greg graduated from Colgate University in May of 2000 with a degree in International Relations.

Education: Colgate University

Tanis Yannetti

Attorney Tanis Yannetti began her career in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office in the early 1990’s, where she initially served as a victim-witness advocate handling domestic violence cases. From there, she attended the New England School of Law, where she competed in and won the law school’s Moot Court Competition in 1994. She graduated with her juris doctor degree in May, 1994. After her law school graduation, Tanis served for three years as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County. In that capacity, Tanis handled hundreds of criminal cases. She left the D.A.’s Office in 1997 to pursue her legal career in private practice, concentrating mainly in the area of criminal law. Tanis now serves as an attorney, “of counsel,” to her brother David R. Yannetti. A seasoned, experienced and smart attorney in her own right, Tanis regularly makes court appearances for David when he is on trial. She also serves as a “second seat” when Attorney David Yannetti is defending some of his larger and more complex cases — including a 2008 murder case on which the Yannetti legal team achieved a “Not Guilty” verdict on behalf of a client who had unjustly served 16 years in state prison as a result of false confession to the police. Attorney Tanis Yannetti maintains her own law practice as well, handling family-law matters as well as criminal-defense issues. Given her background, Tanis is a restraining-order and harassment-order expert. Tanis also represents alleged victims of crime. For more information about Tanis’s background and qualifications, visit her website: www.tanisyannetti.com.

Christina Pujals Ronan

Christina is an accomplished attorney with two decades of experience in criminal law and public service. She recently served as Chief of the Enterprise and Major Crimes Division in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, where she oversaw complex investigations and prosecutions involving firearm and narcotics trafficking, conspiracy, and other serious felonies. She also served as a designee for the Attorney General on the Legislative Commission for Emerging Firearm Technology. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Christina spent sixteen years as Senior Trial Counsel in the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, leading over fifty Superior Court trials, including homicide, sexual assault, and major narcotics cases. In addition to her prosecutorial work, she is an Adjunct Lecturer at Boston University School of Law, where she teaches Homicide Investigations and Trial Practice, a seminar she designed to explore both the legal and practical dimensions of major criminal cases. A graduate of Boston University School of Law and Vanderbilt University, Christina is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Florida. She is a member of the Boston University School of Law Executive Alumni Council. She serves on the advisory board of My Life My Choice, an organization committed to end the commercial sex trafficking of children. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French. Her career reflects a deep commitment to justice, mentorship, and advancing integrity within the criminal justice system.

Education: Boston University School of Law , Vanderbilt University