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The Traylor Law Firm: A Downtown Dallas Native Who Only Does Criminal Defense and Jail Release

David L. Traylor has lived in Dallas since he was 18 months old, and today he lives in downtown Dallas and practices two blocks from the courthouse he grew up watching change. His firm’s pitch is narrow by design: criminal defense and jail release, full stop — no personal injury overflow, no family law add-on, just the cases that land people in the Dallas County system. This profile is part of Awesome Attorneys’ coverage of Dallas criminal defense attorney options.

At a Glance

Origin & Background

David Traylor grew up in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of North Dallas and has lived in the city his entire life. He earned degrees connected to SMU and UT Dallas before building a 20-year Dallas criminal defense practice, now based downtown in the historic Adolphus Tower on Main Street — walking distance from the Frank Crowley Courts Building and the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell across multiple consecutive years (2015–2018), the service’s top peer-review distinction for both legal ability and ethics, and belongs to the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, a national organization for attorneys who limit their practice to intoxication-offense defense. He is not Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in any specialty — a distinction this profile notes explicitly because several other Dallas criminal defense and DWI attorneys profiled in this directory do hold that certification.

Dallas Criminal Defense Attorney Practice Concentration

The firm’s stated focus is narrow: criminal defense (felonies and misdemeanors, probation violations, jail release) and DWI/DUI defense, plus traffic ticket representation, driver’s license rehabilitation, and lifting of warrants. Traylor’s own marketing emphasizes this narrowness — “all we do is Criminal Defense and Jail Release” — as a deliberate choice rather than a byproduct of a broader general practice.

Track Record

The firm’s public materials describe favorable outcomes in general terms (dismissals, reduced charges, successful ALR representation) and reference specific matters informally on the attorney’s own social media (e.g., a reported batch of charge dismissals across North Texas courts), but does not publish a formal, dated case-results table. Awesome Attorneys could not independently verify these outcomes and presents them as the firm’s own claims rather than confirmed court records.

Client Voice

Reviews are largely positive but include at least one specific, serious complaint that this profile is disclosing rather than omitting. Positive examples:

“David not only helped me get through several legal issues, but went above and beyond, advising and helping me navigate through my difficult situation at home… He will not give up on a case, and more importantly, he will never give up on you.” — client review, firm website

“Violated DD on 2 counts with a new speeding charge, cases dismissed!… he emailed me after court to tell me that the 2 previous cases were conditionally dismissed.” — Avvo client review

One negative review describes a materially different experience: a client who paid $200 for traffic-ticket handling reported the firm failed to follow through, leaving an unpaid ticket that later triggered a Texas DPS license-renewal block, and that subsequent calls were not returned or forwarded to the attorney. Awesome Attorneys could not independently verify this account, but its specificity — a dollar figure, a concrete adverse consequence (blocked license renewal), and a described pattern of non-responsiveness — makes it worth raising directly with the firm, particularly for anyone retaining counsel for routine traffic-ticket matters rather than more serious criminal charges.

Beyond the Courtroom

Traylor is a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and belongs to Mensa. He has been recognized as one of the “3 Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Dallas, Texas” (2015, 2016) by a third-party rating service, and is a member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association’s broader professional network.

Recognition

Traylor’s most substantive third-party credential is his multi-year AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which reflects peer assessment of legal ability and ethical standards rather than a paid marketing placement. He holds no Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification, so this profile does not use the term “specialist” to describe his practice. The “3 Best” local rating and BBB A+ rating are legitimate but lower-rigor recognitions compared to board certification or a sustained peer-review rating.

Texas Legal Backdrop

A first DWI in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code § 49.04 (up to 180 days in jail, a fine up to $2,000), escalating to a Class A misdemeanor at a BAC of 0.15 or above, and to a third-degree felony on a third offense. A driver has 15 days from arrest to request an Administrative License Revocation hearing under Texas Transportation Code Chapters 524 and 724 to contest an automatic license suspension. For the firm’s traffic-ticket and deferred-disposition work, Texas law allows many traffic offenses to be resolved through deferred disposition under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 45.051, which can keep a conviction off a person’s record if conditions (such as a defensive driving course or a waiting period without new violations) are successfully completed — the mechanism referenced in one of the firm’s own client reviews above.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

David Traylor’s genuine strengths are longevity (20 years in Dallas courts), a sustained AV Preeminent peer rating across multiple years, and a deliberately narrow practice focus that keeps the firm concentrated on criminal defense and related matters rather than diluted across unrelated practice areas. The DUI Defense Lawyers Association membership signals a real specialization interest in intoxication-offense defense specifically, even without formal TBLS board certification.

The negative review describing a mishandled traffic ticket and an unreturned-calls pattern is a genuine concern worth naming directly — it describes a materially worse outcome (a blocked license renewal) than simply an unhappy client, and it’s the kind of account that should prompt a direct conversation about case-status communication practices, particularly for lower-stakes traffic matters that might receive less day-to-day attorney attention than an active criminal case.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from the firm’s own website (traylorlawfirm.com, including its David L. Traylor attorney-profile page), David Traylor’s Avvo attorney profile and client reviews, the firm’s Better Business Bureau file, The National Trial Lawyers’ member profile, AttorneyAtLaw.com’s firm listing and reviews, and Traylor’s DUI Defense Lawyers Association member page. Statutory citations were checked against the Texas Penal Code, Texas Transportation Code, and Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. No case results, credentials, or quotes were invented; all reviews — positive and negative — are attributed to their original platform and identified as claims where independent verification was not possible.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by The Traylor Law Firm prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placements clearly labeled as such, but no payment of any kind determines inclusion in, or the content of, this editorial profile. This article is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and The Traylor Law Firm or Awesome Attorneys.