Vikas Dhar

Vikas is widely recognized as a leader in the New England legal community. He specializes in white-collar criminal defense, international extradition matters and state criminal defense. He is a past recipient of the “Excellence in the Law” award by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and has been recognized by Boston Magazine annually for the past 15 years as a “Super Lawyer” in white-collar criminal defense.

He has twice been invited by the Federal judiciary to serve on Merit Selection Panels to appoint new Federal magistrate judges in Boston, served a 5-year term as a Hearing Officer for the Board of Bar Overseers and is a panel member of Senior Partners for Justice. Vikas is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and his firm’s pro bono work and community contributions have been profiled by Forbes Magazine and Harvard Business Review.

Regarded as powerful in the courtroom and unflappable at the negotiating table, clients rave about his calming demeanor, friendliness, and never-ending energy reserves.

Southern Illinois University School of Law

J.D.

Honors: John S. Rendleman Award,

Washington University in St. Louis

A.B.

Mentor

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being

2022 - Current

Member

Judicial Advisory Committee, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

2021 - Current

Member

Senior Partners for Justice, Pro Bono Panel Member

2013 - Current

Member

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

2010 - Current

Member

South Asian Bar Association

2005 - Current

Member

Boston Bar Association

2003 - Current

Member

Massachusetts Bar Association,

2003 - Current

Member

Federal Merit Selection Panel

2021 - 2022

Hearing Officer

Board of Bar Overseers

2016 - 2021

Member

National Clemency Project - Obama Administration

2014 - 2015

Member

Federal Merit Selection Panel

2012 - 2013

Member

Governor's Commission for Revision of the School Code

2002 - 2003

Coordinator, Forensic Psychiatry & Memory: Perspectives in Law, MCLE Program, 2008

2008

The DHS Initiative, Massachusetts Bar Institute Section Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2005

2005

Panelist, The Intersection of Civil & Criminal Legal Issues: Exploring the Crossover, Commonalities and Differences of Both Practices, Boston

April 6, 2022

Boston Bar Association

Attorney Vikas S. Dhar has been asked to serve as a panelist for a Boston Bar Association Webinar on “The Intersection of Civil & Criminal Legal Issues: Exploring the Crossover, Commonalities and Differences of Both Practices.” The Webinar will take place on-line Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from 4-6pm

Moderator, Extradition in Federal Criminal Cases - Featuring US v. Taylor (2020, D-MA), Boston

June 28, 2021

Boston Bar Association

Moderator, Practical Advice for New Lawyers, Boston

March 31, 2021

Social Law Library

Mentor

SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being

2022

Top 100 Massachusetts Defense Attorney

National Trial Lawyers

2022

New England Super Lawyer: White-Collar Criminal Defense

Boston Magazine

2021

Select Annually for the Last 15 Years

Inducted Fellow

Litigation Counsel of America

2020

"Top 40 Under 40" Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney

National Trial Lawyers Organization

2018

“Excellence in the Law: Up & Coming Attorney” Award

Massachusetts Bar Association and Lawyers Weekly

2012

John S. Rendleman Award

Southern Illinois University School of Law

2003

U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts

Member

Current

U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit

Member

Current

Massachusetts State Bar  # 657539

Member

2003 - Current

Massachusetts

Since 2003

1st Circuit

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted

Criminal Law

Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Expungement, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Internet Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence Criminal Defense, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, Victims Rights

White Collar Crime

DUI & DWI

Stockbroker & Investment Fraud

Immigration Law

Asylum, Citizenship, Deportation Defense, Family Visas, Green Cards, Immigration Appeals, Investment Visas, Marriage & Fiancé(e) Visas, Student Visas, Visitor Visas, Work Visas

• Larceny
• Embezzlement

Q. If you please guilty to a felony crime in the state of Massachusetts can you appeal your guilty plea

April 18, 2022

A: Instead of “appeal”, I think you should reflect on the more general term of “seeking post conviction relief.” Yes, after entering a guilty plea in Massachusetts, if you have sufficient grounds, you can attempt to go back and undo the guilty plea, which is often times done based on Rule 30 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, which states that if your plea was not completed in the interests of justice, there may be a way for you to walk it back. Other avenues of relief could be ineffective assistance of counsel, constitutional grounds or procedural error. As always, you should consult an experienced Massachusetts criminal defense attorney. Good luck!

Q. I wanted to know if the federal court system take ONLINE COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS. OR DO THEY HAVE TO BE DONE IN PERSON?

April 12, 2022

A: This is a great question as it has come up previously due to the changes in the Federal court system system because of the pandemic. In the end, however, the possibility for you to perform community service online is going to be specific to the court in which your case is in, and even more specifically, what your probation officer will allow you to do. You should definitely check with your probation officer, and when you do, be prepared to provide reasons why you feel that you need to do this online rather than in-person and you should also be prepared to provide programs that you have found which will allow you to do it online. The more prepared you are to be in being persuasive with your probation officer, the more likely that your request will be successful. Best of luck to you.

Q. If I’m on federal pretrial can I switch my lawyer in get a new one my lawyer not doin her job now bein though I’m reales

April 11, 2022

A: I’m assuming that you mean that you’re currently on pretrial release while your case is pending, correct? You can certainly terminate and hire a new lawyer at any time. If your current lawyer is court-appointed, you should discuss it with them to determine whether or not you would be eligible for another court appointed lawyer. If your lawyer is privately retained, then you can certainly choose to terminate them and hire a new lawyer. Best of luck to you!

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