Our Approach

Joshua D. Lock is a 1971 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. From 1975 to 1979, Mr. Lock served as the Chief Public Defender of Dauphin County. He is a former president of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, and a member of the Dauphin County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Mr. Lock is a frequent author and lecturer. Among the topics about which he has written and lectured are “Criminal Law and Trial Techniques,” “Affirmative Defenses: Negating Criminal Culpability,” “Pennsylvania Forfeiture Law: A Substantive Primer,” “Linear Litigation: An Analytical Basis for Preparing and Conducting Cross-Examination,” “Brady Issues: Disclosure and Ethical Obligations,” “An Overview of the Role of Defense Counsel during the Investigation of Alleged Corporate Wrongdoing,” “Vindicating the Wrongfully Convicted,” “The Art & Science of Jury Selection.” His most recent lecture was on “Cybercrime: Handling the Computer Intrusion Case.”

He has been listed in the Best Lawyers of America since 1983, and has been a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since the inception of this designation. He has had the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell peer-review rating for almost 30 years.

Mr. Lock’s practice concentrates primarily on state and federal pre-indictment representation during regulatory, prosecutorial and grand jury investigations, the defense of white-collar prosecutions, and appellate advocacy.

Recent successes include:

• Relying on newly discovered evidence which established misconduct by employees of the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory, Mr. Lock secured the release of a man who had served 28 years of a life sentence. After the first week of a subsequent civil rights trial, a seven figure settlement was reached.
• After joining the defense team during the prosecution of a businessman for perjury committed before a state agency from which he sought a license to operate a regulated business, Mr. Lock successfully persuaded the prosecution to withdraw all charges.
• Mr. Lock obtained an acquittal in a federal court extortion case involving organized crime figures.
• Mr. Lock is currently seeking appellate relief in a public corruption case based upon of the admitted, massive destruction of material to which the defense claims it was entitled under Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, Youngblood v. Arizona, the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct.