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. (2003) | Law

Full Merit Scholarship; John S. Rendleman Award

Washington University in St. Louis

B.A. (1999) | Political Science

Partner

Dhar Law, LLP

2010 - Current

The Dookhan Fallout: Tainted Drug Lab Samples & Guilty Pleas

Dhar Law LLP

2012

The Use of Substitute Experts at Trial and the Confrontation Clause

MCLE

2011

Coordinator, Forensic Psychiatry & Memory: Perspectives in Law

MCLE Program

2008

The Department of Homeland Security Initiative

Massachusetts Bar Institute Section Review, Vol. 7, No. 1

2005

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

2022

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

2021

Practical Advice for New Lawyers, Social Law Library

2021

Hot Topics in Criminal Law, Know Your Rights Community Seminar

2012

Speaker, New England Law Journal Commencement

2012

Super Lawyer

Super Lawyers

2023

2014-2023

Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Boston

Expertise.com

2023

Superb Rating

Avvo

2023

Client's Choice Award

Avvo

2023

2011-2014, 2016-2017, 2022

Peer Reviewed 5.0/5.0

Martindale-Hubbell

2023

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being

Mentor

Current

Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Member

Current

Activities: Judicial Advisory Committee

Senior Partners for Justice

Pro Bono Panel Member

Current

South Asian Bar Association

Member

Current

Boston Bar Association

Member

Current

Activities: Criminal Justice Section

Massachusetts

Since 2003

1st Circuit

U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted

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. ... Read More

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!