Ben Hiltzheimer

Ben Hiltzheimer

founder/managing partner

Ben is an experienced trial lawyer with over 20 years of litigation experience exclusively in the realm of criminal defense. He earned his law degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was trained in trial practice at the nation’s preeminent Public Defender agency, the federally funded Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, described by United States Attorney General Eric Holder as “the best public defender office in the country.”

From 2006 to 2011, Ben served as an attorney at the Public Defender Service, including two years in a litigation role focused on complex forensics and systemic criminal justice issues in partnership with the Innocence Project, prior to transitioning that experience into the role of trial attorney. In his capacity as trial attorney at the Public Defender Service, he represented indigent individuals charged with felonies in the District of Columbia, from their initial appearance in Superior Court through trial. Ben has a proven track record of achieving excellent results in front of juries and judges, with over 80 cases tried to verdict by judge or jury. He is committed to advocacy on behalf of his clients in the face of the substantial power of state and federal governments and has devoted his entire legal career to representing the accused. He never has and never will work for the other side.

Ben currently lives with his wife and three children (and three dogs and two cats) in Carrboro.

In Print

• Rising Star: Ben Hiltzheimer
  • North Carolina Advocates for Justice interview with Ben Hiltzheimer as its selected “Rising Star,” November 2019
• Benjamin Hiltzheimer: Science, Liberty, and the Law
  • Hiltzheimer featured as Attorney At Law Magazine’s Criminal Defense Attorney of the Month, 2014

Memberships

• North Carolina Advocates for Justice
  • Criminal Defense Section Member
• 16th Judicial District Bar Association

Experience

• Owner/Managing Partner: Hiltzheimer Law Office, PLLC, 2011-Present
• Staff Attorney, Trial Division: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, 2008-2011
• Special Litigation and Forensics Fellow, The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, 2006-2008

Awards and Recognition

• 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Super Lawyers List
• 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Best Lawyers List
• 2019 Rising Star, North Carolina Advocates for Justice
• Attorney At Law Magazine Criminal Defense Attorney of the Month, 2014
• National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
• National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40
• American Society of Legal Advocates Top 40 under 40
• Avvo Clients’ Choice Award

Education

• J.D., The George Washington University, 2006
• B.A., Philosophy, University of Georgia, 1999
• B.A., Cognitive Science, University of Georgia, 1999

Bar Admissions

• Federal Courts: Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina
• North Carolina
• California (Inactive Status)
• District of Columbia (Retired Status)