Live — updated October 1, 2026

Best criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL, according to AI

We ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and 8 more AI assistants the questions real customers ask — like “Who are the best criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL?” — and publish who they name. Here is this month's answer, ranked by how often they name each business.

Short answer · October 2026

As of October 1, 2026, The Rickman Law Firm is the criminal defense lawyer AI assistants most recommend in Tampa, FL, named by 6 of 12 assistants. The Brancato Law Firm and O'Brien Hatfield, P.A. rank next.

Updated monthly · next update November 2026 · no business can pay to be listed

Covers Tampa and nearby areas including St. Petersburg, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, South Tampa, Clearwater.

AI's top criminal defense lawyers in Tampa for October 2026

Every business below was named by the AI assistants themselves when we asked for criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL. The more assistants that name a business — and the more often — the higher it ranks.

  • RankWho the AIs name most often, and most in agreement.
  • AIs that name itHow many of the 12 assistants we asked put this business in their answer.
  • vs last monthUp, down or new since the previous monthly edition.

Every criminal defense lawyer AI named (20)

Tap a name for that business's AI profile: rank history, which assistants name it, and who's just ahead.
RankBusiness & the AIs that name itAIs that name itTimes namedvs last month
1
ClaudeMicrosoft CopilotGeminiMeta AIMistralSiri
6 of 12 11 ▲ 11 places up
2
ChatGPTClaudeMicrosoft CopilotGeminiMeta AISiri
6 of 12 8 ▼ 1 places down
3
Google AI OverviewsClaudeMicrosoft CopilotGeminiMeta AI
5 of 12 6 ▲ 5 places up
4
Microsoft CopilotGeminiSiri
3 of 12 6 same
5
ClaudeMicrosoft CopilotGeminiMistral
4 of 12 5 new
6
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity
4 of 12 4 new
7
ClaudeGemini
2 of 12 4 ▼ 2 places down
8
AlexaMeta AIPerplexity
3 of 12 3 new
9
ClaudeGeminiMeta AI
3 of 12 3 ▼ 6 places down
10
ClaudeMeta AI
2 of 12 3 new
11
The Hardy Law Firm
thehardylawfirm.com
ChatGPTMicrosoft Copilot
2 of 12 3 new
12
The Law Office of W.F. "Casey" Ebsary Jr.
ClaudeMistral
2 of 12 3 new
13
Thomas & Paulk, P.A.
Microsoft CopilotMeta AI
2 of 12 3 new
14
Baez Law Firm
baezlawfirm.com
DeepSeekMistral
2 of 12 2 new
15
Brunvand Wise, P.A.
Microsoft CopilotMeta AI
2 of 12 2 ▼ 10 places down
16
Google AI OverviewsClaude
2 of 12 2 ▼ 7 places down
17
Hunt Law
ChatGPTClaude
2 of 12 2 new
18
The Suarez Law Firm PA
suarezlawfirm.com
ChatGPTClaude
2 of 12 2 ▼ 5 places down
19
Trombley & Hanes
Microsoft CopilotMeta AI
2 of 12 2 new
20
Mike G Law
Meta AI
1 of 12 2 new

Sample: 33 answers from 12 of the 12 assistants asked, on 3 question phrasings, edition of October 1, 2026. 39 unverifiable names (likely hallucinations) dropped.

Business links point to each company's own website — found in what the assistants cited or wrote, a business listing that returned this exact business by name, or the business's own domain — and every one was loaded and checked to name that business before it was published. A name without a link is one we could not confirm.

Asked the ways customers actually ask

The same assistants, the same week, three phrasings of one need — ranked separately. A business that wins “best” but loses “most affordable” is losing a different customer each time.

Best affordable criminal defense lawyer near Tampa?
  1. 1The Brancato Law Firm
  2. 2Sammis Law Firm
  3. 3Hackworth Law
  4. 4Hunt Law
I need a criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, FL. Who do you recommend?
  1. 1The Rickman Law Firm
  2. 2Mayberry Law Firm
  3. 3Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group
  4. 4The Brancato Law Firm
  5. 5The Law Office of W.F. "Casey" Ebsary Jr.

40 sources the assistants read

Every site behind this month's answers, ranked by share of all citations, with how many assistants relied on each. Earning a mention on the pages near the top is what moves a ranking — and nothing on this page can be bought.

  1. 01 lawyers.findlaw.comDirectory & reviews 4 of 12 assistants
  2. 02 justia.comDirectory & reviews 3 of 12 assistants
  3. 03 attorneys.superlawyers.comDirectory & reviews 3 of 12 assistants
  4. 04 expertise.comDirectory & reviews 3 of 12 assistants
  5. 05 djfernandezlaw.com 3 of 12 assistants
  6. 06 yelp.comDirectory & reviews 3 of 12 assistants
  7. 07 lawinfo.comDirectory & reviews 2 of 12 assistants
  8. 08 avvo.comDirectory & reviews 2 of 12 assistants
Show 17 more sourcesShow fewer
  1. 09 hauteliving.com 2 of 12 assistants
  2. 10 brancatolawfirm.comRanked #2 · The Brancato Law Firm 2 of 12 assistants
  3. 11 bestlawyers.comDirectory & reviews 2 of 12 assistants
  4. 12 merriam-webster.comReference 2 of 12 assistants
  5. 13 ontoplist.com 2 of 12 assistants
  6. 14 lawyers.comDirectory & reviews 1 of 12 assistants
  7. 15 floridabar.orgLicensing 1 of 12 assistants
  8. 16 threebestrated.comDirectory & reviews 1 of 12 assistants
  9. 17 attorneyatlawmagazine.com 1 of 12 assistants
  10. 18 theblacklawcompany.com 1 of 12 assistants
  11. 19 tampabaycriminaljustice.com 1 of 12 assistants
  12. 20 criminaldefenselawfirmtampa.com 1 of 12 assistants
  13. 21 hillsbarlrs.com 1 of 12 assistants
  14. 22 hillsclerk.com 1 of 12 assistants
  15. 23 thisiscriminal.com 1 of 12 assistants
  16. 24 podcasts.apple.comDirectory & reviews 1 of 12 assistants
  17. 25 uscourts.govLicensing 1 of 12 assistants

+ 15 more sites cited less often, together 20.5% of citations.

36assistant answers collected
72citations from 40 sources
59businesses named
3×12question phrasings × assistants

No business can pay to be ranked · how this is measured

Is your business in this answer?

12 assistants answered “Who are the best criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL?” this month and named 20 criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL. Which side of that list you are on decides whether a customer asking that question ever hears your name.

On the list, and want to be higher?

Rank here is set by how many assistants repeat your name and which sources they read to decide it — the 25 sources above are the ones that shaped this answer. Our platform measures exactly that for one business: the same 12 assistants, daily instead of monthly, which of those sources you appear on and which you don't, and every fix tracked until the answer changes.

Each edition moves this list — across the 245 rankings with an earlier edition, 31% of the businesses in a top 10 last time were not named at all this time. One email per edition, nothing else; you confirm by clicking the link we send.

You're not on the list

Then for this question you were not in the answer at all — not ranked low, absent from the shortlist, with nothing to tell you it happened. That is the ordinary case: most criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL are never named. AI Pulse shows you what each assistant says about your business and what to change so it names you.

Common questions

Who is the best criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, FL, according to AI?

As of October 1, 2026, The Rickman Law Firm — named by 6 of 12 AI assistants, 11 times in all. The Brancato Law Firm and O'Brien Hatfield, P.A. rank next.

How many criminal defense lawyers did AI assistants name in Tampa, FL?

59 businesses were named across 36 answers from 12 assistants, on 3 phrasings of the question. 20 of them were named often enough to rank.

How often is this ranking updated?

Every month. This edition covers October 2026; the next one publishes in November 2026. Each business's move since the last edition is shown in the "vs last month" column.

How is this ranking measured?

Fixed, unbranded consumer questions — including "Who are the best criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL?" — are put to the same assistants every month. Named businesses are resolved to one entity, a name mentioned only once is dropped as unverifiable, and a cell publishes nothing until enough answers accumulate. No business can pay to appear or to rank higher.

The questions we ask

The prompt set is fixed and unbranded, so month-over-month movement means the assistants changed their answer — not that we changed the question.

  • Who are the best criminal defense lawyers in Tampa, FL?
  • I need a criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, FL. Who do you recommend?
  • Best affordable criminal defense lawyer near Tampa?

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot answer in live, web-connected mode; Grok, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Mistral answer from model knowledge only, and Siri and Alexa through the voice stack. Each is labeled in the methodology.

Move up this list

This page measures a whole market once a month, for free. Our software measures a single business across the same 12 assistants daily — which ones name you, which sources they trust to decide it, what to fix next, and whether the answer actually moved.

AI Pulse: all 12 AI assistants, every feature, cancel anytime.