Frank Walker

My name is Frank C. Walker, II and I am the owner of Frank Walker Law. I have been practicing criminal defense law since 2005 and have offices con-leniently located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia. I am licensed to practice law in all state and federal courts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including the United States Supreme Court.

For as long as I can remember, the notion of helping people drove my desire to be a criminal defense attorney. I wanted to help people who find themselves in difficult circumstances resolve their problems and be able to speak on their behalf. It is an awesome responsibility to heed the call of someone who comes to me and says, “I’m in trouble . . . I need your help . . . and I’m trusting you to help me with my case and my freedom.” Criminal defense work is unique in that, at the heart of it, it is just my client and I fighting the state or federal government.

I started my legal career with the Allegheny County Office of Conflict Counsel when that office first opened in 2005. The office was created as the parallel office to the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender for the purpose of representing defendants who had a conflict of interest with the Public Defender’s Office for any number of reasons. For example, imagine there are two people in a car when the car is stopped by police, who find a gun in the car. Both passengers claim that the gun belongs to the other person. Neither person can afford to hire an attorney, so they go to the Office of the Public Defender. The defender is not able to represent both parties due to the inherent conflict of interest. Therefore, the public defender would keep one defendant, and send the other person to the Office of the Conflict Counsel.

In the beginning, the comparison between the two offices was stark: The Public Defender’s office had about 40 attorneys and support staff, while the Office of Conflict Counsel had a staff of four. We accepted the challenge and handled all criminal hearings, jury trials, appeals, and Post-Conviction Relief Act petitions. My time spent with that office was a whirlwind experience that formed the foundation for my career.

From the Office of Conflict Counsel, I went to a medium-sized Pittsburgh law firm to work in the Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation Department. After countless criminal and civil jury trials, hearings, and other legal proceedings, I finally fulfilled my lifelong dream of starting my own law practice in 2011 when I started Frank Walker Law. Now, as an owner of my own law practice, I can select my cases, focus on specific areas of criminal defense law, and practice in many areas of the state and region.