Brett H. Knight is a Partner at the Birmingham, Alabama law firm of Jaffe, Hanle, Whisonant & Knight, P.C., where he defends clients in criminal cases at every level in different criminal defense cases — from municipal court through complex federal prosecutions, white-collar crimes, drug crimes, DUI, and capital murder trials. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America and selected to Super Lawyers for criminal defense.
Whether in federal, state, or municipal court, he provides every client with dedicated representation based on in-depth experience in a number of complex areas. His goal is to always guide clients through their matter, from the moment they retain his services to fighting for their rights and best interests during the trial or the appeals process.
Clients consistently point to the same two things: he doesn’t quit, and he communicates. Google reviews describe an attorney who “just doesn’t know how to give up,” whose responsiveness was “impeccable,” and whose results “exceeded my expectations.” Brett’s philosophy is simple — a person facing criminal charges deserves a lawyer who answers the phone, explains their options honestly, and fights for the best outcome, not the easiest one.
A Selma native, Brett graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama and earned his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, where he competed on the National Negotiation Team and served on the Trial Advocacy Board.
A Defense Built for the Whole Fight
He believes the best outcomes are won long before a jury is ever seated. His approach is aggressive pretrial litigation: demanding the discovery the government would rather not produce, challenging searches, seizures, and digital surveillance through targeted suppression motions, and forcing the prosecution to prove every element of its case. When trial is the right path, clients benefit from a lawyer trained in trial advocacy from the start of his career — and when the fight continues past a verdict, Brett litigates sentencing, post-trial motions, and appeals with the same intensity.
What Clients Say
Brett’s clients consistently describe two things: relentless effort and constant communication. In Google reviews of the firm, clients have called him an attorney who “just doesn’t know how to give up” and said his responsiveness by phone, text, and email was “impeccable.” Others describe results that “exceeded my expectations”, cases dismissed after they had struggled on their own, and a lawyer who keeps clients and their families “in the loop” at every stage. One reviewer put it simply: Brett Knight “truly cares about the clients he represents.”
Behind those reviews is a straightforward philosophy: a person facing criminal charges is going through one of the most frightening experiences of their life, and they deserve a lawyer who answers the phone, explains their options clearly, and fights for the best possible outcome — not the easiest one.