Charlie Clark

Founding Partner

Upon joining the Family section (Juvenile crime/Domestic violence) of the Prosecutor’s office in 1996, Mr. Clark handled hundreds of juvenile cases ranging from drug charges to first degree Armed Robberies and Aggravated Sexual Assaults. Mr. Clark not only successfully represented the State at trial on many of these juvenile cases, but he also went to trial on numerous domestic violence restraining order violation cases and the related weapons forfeiture cases before being promoted to the felony trial division.

He practiced criminal law as a Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor for over 12 years before starting his own criminal defense law firm in 2007. Mr. Clark began his legal career in 1995 where he started in the Appellate section of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Over the next several years, Mr. Clark honed his trials skills as a member of the Felony Trial Division. He successfully prosecuted adult defendants for crimes such as Murder, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault as well as first Degree Drug Distribution cases.

Anyone can say they have “experience” but experience is meaningless when you need a trial lawyer but, instead, your speaking to some transactional lawyer who has spent 30 years sitting behind a desk.  My main strength is my 28 years of jury trial experience. I have spent many years trying complex criminal cases for every type of criminal offense.  I’ve been in the courtroom trenches fighting for my clients’ rights and freedom.  I use my prosecutorial experience and knowledge of the system to your advantage. I know when my clients are being unfairly treated in plea negotiations and I have the confidence to go to trial on any case.

I stress to my clients that my firm takes a trial posture on every case. We do not go to trial on every case and are often successful in our plea negotiations.  But when my client decides to reject the plea offer from the State, they know we will have an excellent chance of success at trial.  

As a criminal defense lawyer, I really feel strongly about protecting my client’s rights, ensuring that the State has sufficient proof to even charge my client and protecting my client from being pressured into sacrificing his constitutional rights.  I’m always looking, first and foremost, for a way to get the charges or indictment dismissed.

– Charles F. Clark, Jr. Founding Partner, Noonan Law, LLC

In 2003, Mr. Clark was promoted to the Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit where he successfully prosecuted defendants for crimes such as Aggravated Sexual Assault, Attempted Child Luring, and Endangering the Welfare of Children.  The insider information learned and experience going to trial on many sex cases has become extremely valuable to Mr. Clark’s criminal defense clients who are often unfairly stigmatized for simply being accused of a sex offense.

In 2006 Mr. Clark was promoted to Director of the Asbury Park Satellite Office by Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin. As the Director of this subdivision of major crimes, Mr. Clark reviewed all the indictable cases originating in Asbury Park. He was also responsible for providing legal advice to the Asbury Park police department and for supervising the Major Crimes Investigative Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office in a number of high-profile homicide cases including a number of gang related homicides. Mr. Clark was one of only three prosecutors entrusted with supervisory control of major crimes investigations in the Prosecutor’s office before his departure in December of 2007.

In 2007, Mr. Clark left the Prosecutor’s Office to use his knowledge and experience to start his own criminal defense law firm.  In 2009 he was recognized by the New Jersey Supreme Court as one of only a small number of Certified Criminal Trial Attorneys in the State of New Jersey. 

Since 2007, Mr. Clark has used his experience to successfully handle hundreds of criminal defense cases. In his career, Mr. Clark has successfully tried hundreds of criminal cases (over 70 of those were felony jury trials), including numerous  Murder  and  Aggravated Sexual Assault cases, as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. Mr. Clark’s clients know that they have an experienced trial attorney who gives them their best chance at success if they choose to go to trial. He has also used his unique trial experience and understanding of the legal issues to negotiate on behalf of his clients and limit their consequences. Mr. Clark has handled cases in nearly every County in New Jersey and regularly appears in both North New Jersey and Central New Jersey Counties.

If you have been charged with a crime or similar type offense (DUI/DWI), let his unique experience as both a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney work for you. He understands the legal issues from both sides and has the experience to negotiate a satisfactory resolution or aggressively protect your rights at trial where you are presumed innocent.