Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney
Ben Stechschulte, a board-certified expert in criminal trial law, has practiced in the Tampa Bay area for nearly 15 years and has tried over 250 non-jury cases and over 100 jury trials. His experience is both varied and comprehensive, making him uniquely qualified to aggressively and effectively defend his clients facing criminal charges.
Ben attended Stetson University College of Law, which is recognized as one of the top trial-advocacy law schools in the country. After graduating in 2005, Ben served as a prosecutor in Hillsborough County. Ben prosecuted DUIs, drug crimes, gun crimes, domestic violence crimes, and sex crimes.
Having worked as a prosecutor, Ben understands how prosecutors build their cases and how to effectively defend his clients against criminal charges.
After working for 3 years at the Prosecutor’s office, Ben was recruited by a prestigious trial law firm in North Tampa. Ben handled nearly every criminal case the firm had. He began to bring in business independently through word-of-mouth referrals from his satisfied clients. Ben’s criminal practice gave him invaluable experience defending a wide range of criminal charges. Ben represented countless clients facing DUIs, drug, gun, and domestic violence charges, sex crimes, and a host of other criminal charges.
Ben’s comprehensive experience in the field of criminal law allowed him to gain the prestigious status of being a board-certified criminal trial lawyer, placing him in the small minority of lawyers who have earned this elite level of recognition as an expert in Criminal Trial Law. To qualify for certification, lawyers must have extensive experience in their specialty and meet rigorous objective quality standards. This distinction is held by fewer than 2 percent of attorneys in Florida and requires at least 5 years of full-time legal experience and at least 20 jury trials that were tried to completion. He also successfully passed a peer review in which judges and other attorneys evaluated him on character, ethics, and professionalism. Ben met these specific criteria to earn this valued accreditation. In 2015, Ben was recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers® magazine in 2015. This is an honor bestowed on approximately 2.5% of attorneys under age 40 based upon peer review.
In 2012, Ben opened his own law firm to dedicate himself to serving clients facing criminal charges or injured in accidents.
On a personal note, Ben is a native Floridian. He was born and raised outside West Palm Beach and left briefly to attend John Carroll University, a Jesuit college in Cleveland, OH. After just 3.5 years, he graduated early to escape the harsh winters of lake-effect snow. He moved back to Florida and to the sunny Tampa Bay area in 2002 to attend Stetson University College of Law. He currently resides in Tampa with his two children. Ben is a former collegiate basketball player and enjoys spending his free time with his kids, golfing, boxing, and watching sports – especially the Tampa Bay Rays and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
