DINKIN & MOORE
Federal and State Criminal Defense - Strategic Trial Lawyers in Virginia
With decades of experience as federal and state prosecutors and defense counsel, we represent individuals and businesses facing serious criminal investigations and prosecutions in federal and state courts
Practice Areas
Dinkin and Moore represents individuals and businesses facing serious criminal investigations and prosecutions in federal and Virginia state courts. Our attorneys bring decades of combined experience as prosecutors and defense counsel in some of the most complex criminal cases handled in the Eastern District of Virginia and across the Commonwealth.
We do not rely on slogans. We rely on preparation, strategy, and courtroom experience.
APPEALS & POST CONVICTION
Our Team
Effective criminal defense is not about being “aggressive.” It is about being prepared, whether you are charged with a multi-million dollar fraud or a DUI.
Our combined experience includes:
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Over 20 years of federal prosecution experience (Assistant U.S. Attorney, EDVA)
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Service as Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond
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Over 100 jury trials, including capital, complex financial, narcotics, and public corruption cases
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Fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers
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Teaching advanced trial advocacy and criminal litigation ethics
We understand both sides of the courtroom — and that perspective informs every decision we make.
Attorney
Attorney
OUR STRATEGIC PHILOSOPHY
Criminal defense is not improvisation. It is strategy.
Every case, whether a federal indictment, a state felony, or a misdemeanor with professional consequences, requires disciplined thinking from the first meeting forward. The decisions made early often determine the outcome long before a jury is sworn.
Our approach is guided by several core principles:
•Trial Readiness Drives Negotiation Leverage Cases resolve favorably when the government understands that trial is a real possibility. We prepare every serious matter as though it will be tried. That preparation shapes negotiations, influences charging decisions, and strengthens sentencing advocacy. Prosecutors assess risk. When the defense is organized, informed, and demonstrably ready, the leverage shifts. Preparation is not theatrics. It is credibility.
•Federal Cases Require Early Intervention Federal investigations often begin months — sometimes years — before an indictment is returned. By the time charges are filed, the government’s narrative is already developed. Early involvement matters. Intervening at the investigative stage can affect charging decisions, shape the flow of information, preserve defenses, and position the case more favorably if indictment becomes unavoidable. Waiting is rarely strategic in federal matters.
•Sentencing Strategy Begins at Indictment In both state and federal court, sentencing advocacy does not begin after conviction — it begins at the outset. The guidelines, statutory exposure, collateral consequences, and the client’s personal history all inform strategic decisions throughout the case. How a case is litigated affects how it will ultimately be judged. Developing a coherent sentencing strategy early allows us to make decisions with clarity about risk and long-term impact.
•Client Collaboration Is Essential Effective defense requires partnership. Clients possess information, context, and insight that shape both legal and factual strategy. We work closely with clients to understand not only the evidence, but the broader consequences — professional, financial, and personal. Clear communication builds better decisions. Difficult cases require honest conversations.
•Intelligence Over Aggression Volume is not strategy. Posturing is not persuasion. Criminal litigation rewards careful analysis, disciplined advocacy, and thoughtful execution. We focus on identifying weaknesses in the government’s proof, developing alternative explanations supported by evidence, and presenting arguments that withstand scrutiny. Aggression without precision can undermine credibility. Intelligence builds it.
•Every Case Matters While we regularly handle complex federal prosecutions, we do not measure a case by its publicity or the number of counts in an indictment. For many individuals, a first offense, a professional license issue, or even a misdemeanor conviction can alter the trajectory of a career or a family’s stability. The stakes are defined by the client — not the headlines. Each matter is approached with the same seriousness, preparation, and respect for what is at risk.
About William J. Dinkin
Bill Dinkin is a trial lawyer who has spent more than three decades in courtrooms across Virginia and the federal system. He represents individuals and businesses in criminal investigations and trials, from complex federal prosecutions to serious state felony and misdemeanor matters where the consequences for the client are no less significant.
Mr. Dinkin has tried more than fifty jury trials, including capital murder prosecutions, complex financial crime cases, and multi-defendant federal conspiracies. In December 2024, he secured an acquittal in a two-week federal jury trial involving allegations of a civil rights violation resulting in death. In 2025, he obtained an acquittal in a multi-week federal jury trial involving allegations of international terrorism.
His practice includes federal white collar defense, healthcare fraud, wire and bank fraud, money laundering, environmental crimes, narcotics conspiracies, tax offenses, and grand jury investigations. He also represents individuals in state court facing charges ranging from serious felonies to DUI and other misdemeanors.
While Mr. Dinkin is frequently retained in high-profile or complex federal matters, he does not measure the importance of a case by its publicity or the number of charges in the indictment. For many clients, a first felony charge, a professional licensing issue, or even a misdemeanor conviction can be life-altering. He approaches each case — large or small — with the same preparation, strategic focus, and respect for what is at stake.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Dinkin served nearly nine years as a prosecutor in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for the City of Richmond, rising to Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney. He supervised and prosecuted white collar, narcotics, and violent crime cases and gained substantial experience in asset forfeiture and complex investigations. That background informs his strategic approach to defense — understanding how cases are built, and how they are dismantled.
In addition to his criminal practice, Mr. Dinkin occasionally works with associated counsel in civil litigation matters involving significant personal injury claims.
Mr. Dinkin is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only organization composed of leading trial attorneys from the United States and Canada. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Virginia Super Lawyers and Virginia Business as one of Virginia’s Legal Elite in criminal defense and white collar law.
He serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, where he teaches advanced trial advocacy and criminal litigation ethics. He has lectured widely on criminal law and trial practice and has published in the University of Richmond Law Review and the Virginia Bar Association Journal.
Mr. Dinkin received his law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, where he was a member of the McNeill Law Society (top 10% of his class), and his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Bar Association, and the Richmond Criminal Bar Association.
Bar Admissions
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Virginia, 1990
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U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, 1990
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U.S. District Court Western District of Virginia, 1990
Education
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University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia
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J.D. - 1990
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Honors: McNeill Law Society
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University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
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B.A. – 1986
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Honors: Dean’s List 1985-86
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Major: Biology
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Published Works
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Hayes & Dinkin, “Environmental Liability in Real Property Transactions, 23 U. Rich. L. Rev. 349., 1989
William J. Dinkin & Cullen D. Seltzer, Survey of Virginia Criminal Law, 35 U. Rich. L. Rev. 537, 2001
Classes/Seminars
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Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Richmond, 2000 – Present
Honors and Awards
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Virginia Legal Elite – Criminal Defense, 2003 – 2009, 2011, 2013-Present
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Virginia Superlawyers – White Collar Criminal Defense, 2006 – Present
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Best Lawyers in America – Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2016 – Present
Professional Associations and Memberships
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member, 2002 – Present
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City of Richmond Bar Association, Member, 2002 – Present
Past Employment Positions
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City of Richmond Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, 1994 – 2002
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Dinkin & Purnell, PLLC, Partner, 2002 – 2010
Languages
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English
About Michael C. Moore
Michael C. Moore represents individuals and businesses during investigations, grand jury proceedings, criminal trials, and appeals in federal and state courts. Although he concentrates his practice on complex criminal cases, he represents clients in the full range of traffic, misdemeanor, and felony cases.
Mr. Moore’s legal experience spans over thirty years. From 2002 to 2024, Mr. Moore served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond and Norfolk. In that role, he investigated and prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases involving fraud, public corruption, drug trafficking, immigration, and child exploitation. During his tenure, he was the coordinator for a multi-agency Identity Theft Task Force and supervised Special Assistant United States Attorneys detailed to the task force. For over twelve years, he also served as the Richmond office’s Professional Responsibility Officer, providing advice on legal ethics questions to other attorneys in the office.
Before his service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney Mr. Moore spent a total of seven and a half years as a state prosecutor with the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and Virginia Attorney General’s Office. During his time as a state prosecutor, he handled the full spectrum of violent and non-violent criminal cases, including homicides, sexual assaults on adults and children, arson, robbery, and other violent crimes. While with the Attorney General’s Office, he served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud in federal court. He began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable John A. MacKenzie, a federal trial court judge in Norfolk, Virginia.
Mr. Moore has tried over fifty cases before juries in federal and state courts and has handled hundreds of pre-trial motions, bench trials, and sentencing hearings. Throughout his career, he has regularly conducted training for law enforcement officers, paralegals, and attorneys on the investigation and prosecution of white-collar criminal cases as well as constitutional criminal law.
Mr. Moore has been an active participant in the Virginia Bar disciplinary system for the past six years. He currently serves on the Bar Disciplinary Board, which disciplines lawyers for serious misconduct and reinstates law licenses to disciplined attorneys.
Following his graduation from college, Mr. Moore served as an officer in the Virginia National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. He is a graduate of the United States Army Field Artillery Officer Basic Course.
BAR ADMISSIONS
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Virginia, 1992
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United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1992
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United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1992
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United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, 2001
EDUCATION
Washington & Lee University School of Law
Lexington, Virginia
J.D., cum laude, 1992
Honors and Activities:
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Contributor, Washington & Lee Law Review
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Alderson Federal Prison Inmate Legal Assistance Program
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Advocate for students accused of Honor Code and other student conduct code violations
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia
B.A., English, with Distinction, 1987
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