
Criminal Defense
Serious criminal matters require careful attention to the facts, available legal options, and the procedures that may follow.
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Finley Legal, PLLC is a Michigan law firm led by John A. Finley, with a primary focus in felony criminal defense and additional practice in cannabis, family, business, and estate planning matters — from Lansing and Brighton to Ann Arbor, Southfield, and Metro Detroit.
Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information through this website.
The Firm
Finley Legal, PLLC is a Michigan law firm serving clients from Lansing and Brighton through Ann Arbor, Southfield, and Metro Detroit.
Finley Legal, PLLC is a Michigan law firm with a primary focus in felony criminal defense and a deliberately limited additional practice in cannabis, family, business, and estate planning matters. The range is narrow on purpose: fewer areas means deeper familiarity with the statutes, the procedures, and the courts where those matters are actually decided.
The firm's approach is straightforward. Read the record rather than the summary. Ask about the details a client may assume are unimportant. Explain what the law allows, what the realistic options are, and what the likely consequences of each one look like — including the unfavorable ones.
Clients come to the firm at consequential moments: a felony charge, a licensing question that threatens a business, a family transition, a plan for what happens after they are gone. Each of those deserves the same standard of preparation and the same candor about what can and cannot be promised.
Matters are handled directly, without being distributed across layers of staff. Clients speak with the attorney responsible for their file, and communication is kept plain rather than procedural.
Practice Areas
Felony criminal defense is the center of the practice. The remaining areas were chosen because they arise repeatedly for the same clients — a cannabis business with a licensing question, a family matter that follows a criminal case, a business owner who needs documents that will hold up later.

Serious criminal matters require careful attention to the facts, available legal options, and the procedures that may follow.
Explore Criminal Defense
Guidance for verified Michigan cannabis matters involving regulatory, business, licensing, and criminal-law considerations.
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Practical legal guidance for verified family-law matters involving important personal, financial, and parental concerns.
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Legal guidance for verified business formation, contract, commercial relationship, and business-dispute matters.
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Guidance for individuals and families preparing legal documents and planning for future decisions.
Explore Estate PlanningHow the Firm Works
01
You provide limited, nonconfidential information about the general nature of your matter so the office can perform an initial conflict review.
02
The office reviews the information provided and follows up regarding whether a conversation about representation is appropriate.
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Representation begins only if the firm agrees to accept the matter and both parties enter into an appropriate engagement agreement.
Submit a brief, nonconfidential inquiry and the office will review it. If you have an upcoming court date or deadline, do not wait on an online form.