About John Arechigo

John Arechigo is devoted to defending the rights of those accused of having committed a crime. John chaired the student-led Innocence Project clinic in law school. It was this experience that removed any doubt of what John would do when he graduated law school in 2006. He was bound to be a criminal defense lawyer. John focuses 100% of his practice to defending individuals charged with a crime. John is well-connected within the Minnesota criminal defense community. He has a number of valuable resources readily available to his clients, including bail bondsmen, expert private investigators, chemical and mental health experts, sentencing experts, and other legal professionals.

John is also easily approachable and accessible to his clients. He strives to keep in close contact with his clients while working on their case. John frequently passes along his cell phone number and does not hesitate to take a client’s call outside of typical office hours, including nights and weekends. Defense attorney John Arechigo offers what very few other Twin Cities criminal defense lawyers can offer. His combination of experience, success, connections, resources, accessibility, and complete handling of a client’s file sets him apart from his colleagues. Some defense attorneys may be able to offer some of this to a client’s file, but very few can provide them all. If you’re considering hiring a lawyer from a big law firm, make sure you know which lawyer will be handling your case.

It’s not uncommon for you to meet with the lawyer whose name is on the door during your consultation, but that may not be the lawyer handling your case. John not only meets with every potential client during a free case consult, but he handles every aspect of a client’s case. John will be your defense lawyer from the minute he’s retained until the minute you walk away from trouble.

Smaller law firm means we have lower overhead, which allows me to typically keep my fees lower than the big law firms. Charging a huge fee doesn’t make you a good lawyer. Getting results does. And John gets results. John has achieved extraordinary results for former clients, including pre-trial dismissals of charges of assault, domestic assault, terroristic threats, theft by swindle, sexual assault, animal cruelty and DWI, and many others. If we can’t get a case dismissed before trial, John will be ready for trial.

In fact, John begins preparing a client’s case for trial from the very early stages of a case. It’s this prep work that has resulted in acquittals, recently securing a not guilty verdict after threats of violence trial that involved KSTP – Channel 5 as the alleged victim.

Arechigo & Stokka immediately begins the expungement process after criminal charges are dismissed. John has successfully sealed client records not only for a number of dismissals, but for clients formerly convicted of a variety of criminal offenses. Even if a judge or jury happens to convict a client, that doesn’t mean John is done fighting. John has successfully appealed a judge’s failure to dismiss a case, convincing both the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2015 (in State v. Turner) and the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2019 (in In the Matter of A.J.B.) to declare three separate criminal laws unconstitutional resulting in reversals of prior convictions.

Minnesota Lawyer has recognized John as an Attorney of the Year in 2015 and again in 2019, with the 2019 designation carrying the exclusive Circle of Excellence honor. John is believed to be the first criminal defense attorney in Minnesota to be selected as an Attorney of the Year twice by the age of 40. John has also been recognized as a Rising Star by SuperLawyers in 2017, 2018 and 2019. John truly believes that helping people is one of the biggest rewards you can get in this world. Let me put my experience and focused set of skills to work for you.