About Joakim I. Tan

Compassion. Experience. Diligence.

Bio

Joakim Tan graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1992 with a Bachelor Degree in Political Science. He got his J.D. at Cornell Law School in 1997. He then spent the next 10 or so years working as a prosecutor in Dallas Texas, and, as a senior prosecutor and team captain in the Office of the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City, Maryland. As a prosecutor, Joakim investigated, indicted, litigated and tried countless cases ranging from juvenile matters to drug distribution and manufacturing, violent felonies, sex crimes, child sexual abuse, attempted murder and trafficking.

Joakim and his wife moved to Santa Barbara in 2009 when his wife accepted an offer to join the Santa Barbara Museum of Art as deputy director and chief curator. Joakim first interned with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office where he did extensive work on an ongoing murder case and later, after passing the California bar exam in 2010, joined the Law Offices of Neil Levinson in Santa Barbara. Joakim served as criminal defense attorney in cases ranging from disorderly conduct, drug possession and manufacturing, assault and battery, rape, attempted murder and murder, and gang crimes. Joakim established his own practice in 2018 while continuing to serve at the Law Offices of Neil Levinson as of counsel. Joakim also works with Santa Barbara Conflict Advocates representing clients charged in criminal cases where the Santa Barbara Public Defender’s Office declares a conflict, meaning they can’t represent a person due to, for instance, competing interests between co-defendants.