Your status. Your family. Your career. Your future.
High-stakes courtroom experience in New York. Focused, strategic representation in criminal defense, DWI, traffic, immigration, and civil cases.
Every strategy begins with understanding what’s at stake for you.
Criminal Defense
A prepared defense. A clear understanding of the stakes.
A criminal charge can put your freedom, employment, reputation, and family life at risk. You need a defense grounded in the evidence and an honest understanding of your options.
Karine draws on eight years of public-defense experience to examine the allegations, review discovery, identify legal challenges, and prepare for negotiations, hearings, or trial. For clients who are not U.S. citizens, potential immigration consequences are considered as part of the defense strategy.
DWI & DWAI Defense
Your case. Your license. Your ability to move forward.
A DWI defense requires close examination of the evidence and a clear understanding of what’s at stake beyond the criminal case. Karine reviews the legality of the stop, police observations, field sobriety testing, chemical testing, recordings, and procedural requirements.
Her DWI training includes:
Participation of the Steven Epstein DWI Defense Institute
Certificates in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE)
Extensive continuing legal education covering DWI practice from the initial stop through sentencing and post-conviction issues
The defense strategy considers potential consequences for your driving privileges, professional licenses, employment, family court concerns, and immigration status, where applicable. These considerations inform the evaluation of defenses, negotiations, and possible resolutions.
Traffic Tickets & License Concerns
Protect the license you rely on.
Your ability to drive supports your work, your family, and your independence. Before paying a ticket or entering a plea, understand what you are accepting and what it could mean for your driving record.
Beginning February 16, 2026, New York’s updated DMV rules increased point values for selected offenses and expanded the administrative review period from 18 to 24 months. With higher point penalties for certain violations and a longer review period, protecting your privilege to drive calls for a careful response to each charge.
Every accusation deserves scrutiny. Karine reviews the ticket, supporting documentation, available discovery, and your driving abstract to assess the proof, identify legal defenses, and pursue negotiation opportunities where permitted. The strategy considers points, potential suspension, insurance costs, immigration consequences, age restrictions, and the consequences for drivers who depend on their license for work.
Representation includes:
Speeding, work zone, and other moving violations
Cell phone and electronic device tickets
Parkway restrictions involving commercial vehicles, vehicle use, and business signage
Registration, inspection, equipment, and license plate violations
Suspended license and aggravated unlicensed operation charges
Driving abstract review, multiple tickets, and traffic court representation
Immigration
Careful planning for your family and your future.
Immigration decisions can affect family unity, work, travel, and long-term plans. Karine provides clear guidance based on your immigration history, available records, and the requirements of the application or relief you are seeking.
Her criminal defense experience also informs the review of immigration questions involving arrests, convictions, or a proposed plea. Potential consequences are evaluated in light of your specific status and history.
Services include:
Family-based immigration
Naturalization
Immigration applications and renewals
DACA renewals
Selected waivers and criminal-history reviews
Padilla review with written advisal for pending criminal or family court cases
Start with a consultation.
Discuss your situation, any upcoming court dates or deadlines, and what you need to protect. A consultation provides an opportunity to review the issues, discuss potential next steps, and determine whether Karine Patiño Law is the right fit for your case.