About Jimmy
Jimmy Cha studied sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a B.A. in 2004. He returned to Orange County for law school, receiving his J.D. from Western State University College of Law in 2007. While at Western State he completed a criminal law certification offered through the school, a credential that complements his legal training.
His entry into legal work began long before law school. In 2001 he worked as a lawyer investigator and law clerk at the Law Office of David P. Elder, a role that exposed him to investigation and case preparation. During law school he took on public defender externships, serving at the Orange County Public Defenders Office in 2006 and the Orange County Juvenile Public Defenders Office in 2007. Those placements put him in courtrooms and client interviews early in his training.
After law school he began practicing on his own account. In 2008 he opened the Law Office of Jimmy Cha and has served clients from that office since then. The practice has handled criminal matters and driving-under-the-influence cases among other criminal defense work. His criminal law certification from Western State appears alongside those years of hands-on practice.
Cha maintains a number of professional affiliations. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the California Bar Association. He also belongs to the California Public Defenders Association and the California DUI Lawyers Association, and he has held a board-at-large position with the California System Involved Bar Association since 2019. He is listed as a founding member of the American Association of Premier DUI Lawyers since 2015, and he has been involved with the North Orange County Bar Association since 2011.
Colleagues and clients encounter a lawyer whose background mixes investigative work, public defender training and private practice. That combination informs how cases are prepared and argued. He continues to work in California criminal courts and to represent people charged with DUI and other criminal offenses. He currently practices at the Law Office of Jimmy Cha, handling criminal defense and DUI matters.
