Criminal Defense

The success of Vanguard Law Office’s criminal defense practice is owed to its attorneys’ experience in hundreds of criminal investigations and prosecutions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, from the county (District Attorney of New York or Kings) and state (New York Attorney General) levels to federal (Southern District and Eastern District of New York). The firm regularly responds to subpoenas and has successfully negotiated with NYPD, FBI, prosecutors (including Assistant District Attorneys, Assistant Deputy Attorney Generals, and Assistant United States Attorneys) to close and seal investigations, dismiss cases, and, often, prevent charges that were otherwise imminent from ever being filed. When charges are unavoidable, the firm focuses on negotiating for the reduction of charges (from felonies to misdemeanors or misdemeanors to violations) and/or securing pleas that result in no criminal record for the client. When trial is inevitable, the firm’s attorneys put the government to work, having successfully obtained acquittals on even serious felonies with thorough motion practice and forceful jury arguments to exonerate the accused both inside and outside the courtroom.

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    The firm has successfully represented clients in a wide array of matters, including accusations of rape/sexual assault, physical assault (including domestic violence), harassment, revenge porn, drug possession, vehicular offenses (including DUI), criminal contempt (including for violation of order of protection), and economic crimes (including money laundering, tax fraud, and mail/wire fraud). Firm attorneys have also advised on high profile cases, including manslaughter, weapons possession, and protest charges (from trespass and unlawful assembly to terrorism), which all resulted in acquittals, favorable pleas for the clients, or outright dismissals of those charges.

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Regulatory Investigations

    The firm regularly handles investigations from and requests of regulatory agencies at the state and federal level. For individual clients, this is often related to tax and finance inquiries, but has also included successful negotiations with licensing agencies like the DMV and DOS. For corporate clients, probes specific to a client’s business, such as its sale of alcohol, collection of sales tax, unauthorized gambling, or labor law violations, have closed without a fine or criminal charges.

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Victim Representation​

    The firm represents clients seeking to report crimes or misconduct, to help preserve their privacy as needed and protect them from retaliatory conduct. This has included official reports to law enforcement as well as complaints made within educational institutions, places of employment, and non-profit organizations. The firm’s involvement helps protect the client’s interests and preserves their rights before it can be too late, particularly where a client wishes to be protected as a whistleblower or is otherwise concerned about being targeted by the accused (including in cases of stalking/harassment).