Kenny D. Nguyen

Kenny Nguyen is a proven fighter who is relentless in advocating for his clients. He understands that good people can sometimes find themselves in unfortunate situations, for which he is prepared to help them rise above.

Kenny has over a decade of well-rounded legal experience, in which time he worked in a personal injury law firm and in four different prosecution offices throughout California. He has taken to jury trial everything from simple misdemeanors to serious felonies, including sexual assault court trials in Juvenile Delinquency. Kenny has handled over one thousand Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substances (DUI) cases and is very knowledgeable at the defenses in DUI charges.

During his time as a prosecutor, Kenny enjoyed leading the Juvenile Delinquency Division since he was able to help youth offenders rehabilitate to reduce their risk of reoffending as adults. He stays up to date with the constantly changing law; such as, new legislation allowing dismissals of misdemeanor charges after a diversionary period, amendments that reduce the effects of the Three Strikes Law, and new authority surrounding Fourth Amendment search and seizure laws. Kenny is able to quickly identify Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement officers because as a prosecutor he trained officers on what constituted appropriate conduct in searches and seizures. Kenny has also given legal trainings to other attorneys and has argued appeals and won.

Prior to law school, Kenny worked as a senior paralegal for a personal injury law firm where he mastered this area of law, handled cases from intake to settlement, and prioritized his clients. He has handled approximately 900 personal injury cases to resolution.

Kenny attended the number one ranked public university, namely UCLA, and received his law degree at UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

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California

State Bar of California

Founding Partner

The WIN Law Firm

2022 - Current

Nevada County's Elite Law Firm for Criminal Defense and Personal Injury

Deputy District Attorney

Nevada County District Attorney's Office

2019 - 2022

Handled all stages of Felony, Misdemeanor, and Juvenile prosecutions from initial charging to sentencing. Lead Misdemeanor Deputy District Attorney 2019-2021. Handled over 1000 DUI cases. Conducted trials in Felony, Misdemeanor, and Juvenile cases.

Post-Bar Law Clerk

San Mateo County District Attorney's Office

2018 - 2018

Honors Certified Law Clerk

Santa Clara County, Office of the District Attorney

2017 - 2017

Certified Law Clerk

San Francisco District Attorney's Office

2017 - 2017

Summer Law Clerk

Santa Clara County, Office of the District Attorney

2016 - 2016

Senior Paralegal

Personal Injury Law Office

2012 - 2014

University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

J.D. | Law

University of California - Los Angeles

B.A.

Lawyers of Distinction

Lawyers of Distinction

California DUI Lawyers Association

Member

Current

California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Member

Current

Lawyers of Distinction

Member

Current

Q. I have been ordered to pay victim restitution due to a DUI for over $24,000 due to their attorney fees.

February 26, 2024

A: In California, the restitution amount likely cannot be lowered. However, there might be hope in your case. First, the $24,000 amount is probably the contingency fee amount (usually 1/3 of the victim's total settlement amount) paid to the personal injury attorney for representing the victim in the personal injury civil case. Stated differently, the victim suffered an economic loss of $24,000 for attorney's fees in the personal injury case. This loss may be fully recovered through criminal restitution pursuant to California Penal Code 1202.4(f)(3)(H): "Actual and reasonable attorney's fees and other costs of collection accrued by a private entity on behalf of the victim." A good plaintiff lawyer or the prosecutor advocating for the victim will certainly argue the above law and case in People v. Pinedo work in the victim's favor.

Here's your glimmer of hope. Consult a criminal defense attorney who is also an expert at personal injury law, they are well suited to represent defendants charged with felony DUI involving injury with victim restitution issues. Have the attorney review the Pinedo case and argue that your insurance had already compensated the victim for attorney's fees so you should be entitled to an offset (there is actually a great counter argument against this argument as well but I will not get into that for the sake of brevity). Alternatively, argue the reasonableness of the attorney's fees. The burden is on the defendant to challenge the reasonableness of the victim's attorney's fees. ... Read More