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Inside The Nava Law Firm, founded by an attorney whose father’s career as an El Paso police officer, by his own account, is what first drew him toward criminal defense.
Armando Nava — At a Glance
| FIRM | The Nava Law Firm, PLLC |
| FOUNDED | Phoenix — Armando Nava |
| ATTORNEYS | Armando Nava; Eileen Laux, Lead Felony Defense Attorney |
| FOUNDER’S CREDENTIALS | B.A., Texas A&M University; J.D., cum laude, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University (2010); admitted to the Arizona Bar and U.S. District Court of Arizona in 2010 |
| FOCUS | Criminal defense, DUI/DWI defense, and federal criminal litigation |
| OFFICE | 1641 E. Osborn Rd., Suite 8, Phoenix, AZ 85016 |
| CONTACT | navalawaz.com |
Origin: A Personal-Touch Practice After Big-Firm Experience
Armando Nava grew up in El Paso, Texas, where his father’s work as a police officer is, per his own account, what drew him toward criminal justice. He earned his undergraduate degree at Texas A&M before moving to Arizona in 2007 for law school at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, graduating cum laude and being admitted to the Arizona Bar in 2010. After beginning his career at a larger firm and defending hundreds of cases there, Nava founded his own practice specifically to give each client more direct, individualized attention than he felt a larger firm structure allowed — a stated motivation this profile treats as the attorney’s own account rather than an independently verifiable claim. The firm’s team now also includes Eileen Laux, Lead Felony Defense Attorney.
Practice Areas
Nava’s practice covers criminal defense, DUI/DWI defense, and federal criminal litigation, with courtroom experience spanning Justice Court, City Court, Superior Court, and Federal Court in Arizona. He has completed what his firm describes as hundreds of hours of specialized training in forensic science and identifying weaknesses in prosecution evidence, and has taught continuing legal education seminars to other attorneys on DUI defense specifically — a marker of standing within the local defense bar beyond his own caseload.
Case Outcomes
This is one of the stronger-documented case records in this batch. The firm’s own site describes a Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissing a negligent homicide case against a client Nava defended, on a finding of no probable cause. A client testimonial attributed to “Sundiata A.” describes facing up to eight years in prison on serious felony charges and ultimately reaching a resolution with no felony convictions on his record. Awesome Attorneys could not independently confirm either account through court records but notes both are specific and attributable rather than generic marketing language.
Past-Results Disclaimer: These are the firm’s own case descriptions and a named client account, not an independently verified case log. Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Nava holds a perfect 10-out-of-10 rating on Avvo with no misconduct findings on record, and notably draws multiple peer endorsements from other practicing criminal defense and DUI attorneys in the Phoenix legal community — not just clients — describing him as “resolution oriented,” someone who “does not allow his cases to languish,” and “quickly solidifying his status as one of the premier DUI attorneys in Arizona.” Peer endorsements from fellow attorneys carry different weight than client reviews and are noted as such here.
Community
Nava serves as a board member of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the state’s largest criminal defense bar organization — the same organization that gave The Koplow Law Firm its Outstanding Contribution to DUI Defense Award elsewhere in this category. His CLE teaching on DUI defense is a second, distinct form of engagement with the broader defense bar rather than public-facing community service.
Recognition
Nava has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI, holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating, and was named a Phoenix Magazine Top Lawyer for 2026. The Best Lawyers in America named him 2027 Lawyer of the Year for DUI/DWI defense.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona’s core DUI statute, A.R.S. § 28-1381, prohibits driving while impaired to the slightest degree or with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Negligent homicide and vehicular manslaughter charges — relevant to the case outcome described above — are prosecuted under Arizona’s Title 13 homicide statutes, separate from the DUI statute itself, and require the state to establish probable cause before a case can proceed past the initial stages.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Nava’s genuine strength is the combination of named case outcomes and, unusually for this batch, unsolicited peer praise from other practicing defense attorneys rather than only client reviews. This is a fit for someone who wants a personally-involved attorney, with Eileen Laux leading the firm’s felony defense work.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from navalawaz.com, Avvo, Super Lawyers, Justia, and LawTally. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a competing “Nava Law Firm” elsewhere that could create identity confusion. The Nava Law Firm did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.
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