A trial firm for high-stakes cases, Vijay Law represents individuals in criminal defense, domestic violence restraining orders, high-conflict family law, and cross-border disputes between California and other countries.
Founder and Trial Attorney
At the center of the firm is its founder, Vijay Dinakar. When you hire Vijay Law, you hire a firm built around an experienced trial attorney who personally directs the strategy, preparation, and advocacy in every matter the firm accepts. What follows is his story in his own words.
More than 18 years
Six years
Criminal defense, DVROs, and high-conflict family law
I was born and raised in New York and came to California to attend Santa Clara University School of Law. While in law school, I worked with the Innocence Project and contributed to freeing an innocent man who had been serving a life sentence.
After graduation, I spent six years as a public defender, representing thousands of clients in cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies, including DUI, domestic violence, gang cases, arson, embezzlement, and homicide matters. I tried cases at a pace few private practitioners ever match. Those years in the courtroom, against experienced prosecutors and with real liberty on the line, forged the approach I still use today: prepare every case as if it will be tried, leave no stone unturned, and never underestimate the other side.
I founded Vijay Law as a criminal defense practice where I handled everything from DUIs to homicides and everything in between. Many of those cases involved criminal domestic violence allegations. In those cases, clients frequently found themselves fighting on two fronts at once: a criminal case brought by the government and a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) proceeding in family court. The family court case could determine custody, firearms rights, immigration status, employment, and the trajectory of a divorce.
I then began trying DVRO cases as well. Those matters naturally expanded into full high-conflict family law, custody, support, property division, and divorce litigation. I did not set out to become a family lawyer, but I followed my clients’ legal problems where they led.
What became clear is that serious family litigation is, at its core, trial work. The forum changes, but the skills remain the same: investigation, credibility assessment, cross-examination, strategic timing, and persuasive advocacy.
The Bay Area is one of the most internationally diverse regions in the country. Many families maintain deep ties to India, China, Vietnam and many other countries. When relationships fracture, legal disputes often unfold simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions.
Vijay Law handles the California side of parallel proceedings involving criminal charges, restraining orders, divorce, custody, and dowry-related allegations while coordinating with experienced counsel abroad. We treat these as single integrated disputes rather than separate lawsuits. A declaration filed here can affect proceedings abroad, and vice versa.
We represent both genuine victims who need protection across borders and individuals confronting false allegations. Understanding both perspectives makes us sharper advocates for every client.
We believe the best results come from treating every case as a system, not a collection of forms. Facts shape credibility, credibility shapes leverage, leverage shapes outcomes—whether through negotiation or trial.
That is why we investigate aggressively from the first meeting, identify the issues that will decide the case, and prepare with the discipline of a matter headed for trial. Many cases resolve favorably long before trial because the other side knows we are ready. When trial is unavoidable, the work has already been done.
Clients come to us when something essential is at risk: liberty, family relationships, immigration status, reputation, or financial security. They deserve direct, honest counsel, not reassurance for its own sake. I represent every client with the loyalty and commitment I would bring if the person sitting beside me were my own brother or sister.
“Vijay” is a Sanskrit word meaning “victory.” It is my name and the standard we set for every case. Victory, in our definition, means achieving the best outcome the facts and law permit, whether that is preventing charges from being filed, securing a dismissal, prevailing at trial, obtaining protection, defeating a false allegation, or reaching a resolution that allows a client to rebuild their life.
A substantial part of what we have learned is published in the educational library on this website. The articles explain, in practical terms, how criminal cases are defended, how restraining orders are litigated and fought, how high-conflict divorces unfold, how charges can sometimes be prevented before filing, and how cross-border cases are managed strategically.
Whether or not you ever become a client, we hope these resources help you understand the system before you have to stand in a courtroom.
Schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your situation and the way forward.
