This guide profiles 10 New York City criminal defense firms, spanning Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Each firm is evaluated on three factors: whether its attorneys have prior experience as state or federal prosecutors, their trial experience, and their practice-area focus, which ranges from state felonies, violent offenses, DWI/DUI, and drug and weapons charges to federal white-collar crime and complex fraud cases.
Choosing a criminal defense attorney in New York City means matching a firm’s specific experience to your charge, jurisdiction, and case stage. Every metadata field below comes from firm websites and legal directories such as Avvo, Super Lawyers, Yelp, and Martindale.
1. Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC
- Attorney / Key Figures: Robert Tsigler (Founding Attorney)
- Headquarters: 299 Broadway, Suite 1400, New York, NY 10007 (additional offices in Brooklyn, Queens and Garden City)
- Phone: 718-841-0711
- Website: tsiglerlaw.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense, federal criminal defense, immigration and removal defense, family law
- Firm Size: Multi-attorney boutique firm
- Google Rating: 4.7⭐ (486 reviews)
The Law Offices of Robert Tsigler has grown from a solo Kings County DA’s Office alum into a full team of criminal defense, immigration, and family law attorneys working out of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island. Founder Robert Tsigler still anchors the firm’s reputation: he’s a back-to-back honoree on the National Association of Distinguished Counsel’s “Nation’s Top 1%” list and one of ten attorneys nationwide selected for the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys’ 10 Attorney Round Table, alongside an Avvo 10.0 “Superb” rating. But the firm’s day-to-day casework runs through a bench of associate attorneys and paralegals who handle everything from arraignment to trial.
Clients frequently mention specific team members by name in reviews, from the attorneys who take over active cases to the paralegals who keep them updated between court dates, which points to a firm built around case coverage rather than a single rainmaker. That team handles state and federal matters spanning DWI, drug offenses, assault, gun possession, and white-collar fraud, plus a substantial immigration and removal-defense practice that runs alongside the criminal side, useful for clients whose criminal case carries immigration consequences. With offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Garden City, the firm covers clients across the city and Long Island without asking them to travel to a single downtown location.
2. Greco Neyland, PC
- Attorney / Key Figures: Jeffery Greco and Dustan O. Neyland (Founding Partners); Eli Crozier (Associate)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed; the firm describes over 50 years of combined attorney experience
- Headquarters: 1140 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1035, New York, NY 10036 (additional offices in White Plains and, by appointment, Long Island)
- Phone: (212) 951-1300
- Website: newyorkcriminallawyer.com
- Practice Areas: State and federal criminal defense, DWI defense, drug crimes, violent crimes, weapons offenses, sex crimes, white-collar/federal fraud, domestic violence
- Firm Size: Boutique partnership
- Google Rating: 4.8⭐ (114 reviews)
Greco Neyland was built around the premise that a defense team staffed entirely by former prosecutors has a structural advantage in anticipating how the government will approach a case. Founding partner Jeffery Greco is a NHTSA-certified Drug Recognition Expert and has been named to Super Lawyers in multiple consecutive years; co-founder Dustan Neyland previously prosecuted juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony matters and has since completed forensic chromatography training that he applies to identifying lab errors in drug cases. The firm markets a 24/7 response model for clients who are arrested or contacted by police outside of business hours, and it maintains offices in Midtown Manhattan as well as in White Plains, serving clients across the five boroughs and Westchester County.
3. The Vitaliano Law Firm
- Attorney / Key Figures: Michael E. Vitaliano (Founder and Principal)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed; Vitaliano has 10+ years in practice per legal-directory listings
- Headquarters: 1492 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10301
- Phone: (718) 273-7800
- Website: vitalianolaw.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense (homicide, narcotics trafficking, illegal firearms, burglary, robbery, DWI, sex offenses), white-collar and financial crimes, tax fraud, RICO
- Firm Size: Solo practitioner with support staff
- Google Rating: 4.8⭐ (51 reviews)
Michael Vitaliano is a former New York City prosecutor whose caseload included homicide, narcotics trafficking, illegal firearms, and financial crimes before he moved into private defense work. He has been recognized on lists such as “America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys” and the National Trial Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40.” Vitaliano was raised on Staten Island, where his firm is headquartered, and his father previously represented the borough in the New York State Assembly before becoming a federal judge, a detail that is sometimes cited to underscore the firm’s local roots, though it has no bearing on courtroom outcomes.
4. The Law Office of Tracy & Tracy, PLLC
- Attorney / Key Figures: Brendan Tracy and Victoria Tracy (Co-Founders)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed
- Headquarters: 646 Forest Ave, 2nd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10310
- Phone: (917) 831-7678
- Website: tracy-legal.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense (DWI/DWAI, drug crimes, domestic violence, violent crimes), family law and ACS/child-welfare proceedings
- Firm Size: Small partnership
- Google Rating: 5.0⭐ (17 reviews)
Tracy & Tracy pairs two attorneys with complementary public-service backgrounds. Brendan Tracy spent nearly a decade as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and further time as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Staten Island DA’s Domestic Violence Bureau, handling sex-crimes, homicide, and domestic-violence matters before moving into defense work. Victoria Tracy built her career at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, rising to a senior leadership position before co-founding the firm, and now handles its family-law and child-welfare docket. That combination lets the firm handle criminal cases and related Family Court or ACS proceedings, situations that often arise together, without referring clients to a second firm. The practice is based in Staten Island and serves clients across Staten Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and parts of New Jersey.
5. Law Offices of Lance Fletcher, PLLC
- Attorney / Key Figures: Lance Fletcher (Founding Attorney)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed; Fletcher has been in practice since leaving the Manhattan DA’s Office in 2008
- Headquarters: One World Trade Center, 85th Floor, New York, NY 10007 (by appointment); primary office at 52 Duane Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10007
- Phone: (212) 619-3900
- Website: lawfletcher.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense, Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs) and pre-arraignment matters, DWI/DUI, white-collar crime
- Firm Size: Solo practitioner with associate support
- Google Rating: 4.8⭐ (64 reviews)
Lance Fletcher worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan from 2004 to 2008, prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases as a member of the Identity Theft and Domestic Violence units and conducting eleven jury trials before moving into defense work. His practice is exclusively dedicated to criminal defense, with a particular focus on Desk Appearance Tickets (cases where a person is released with a future court date rather than held for arraignment) and on securing dismissals before a case proceeds further. The firm’s primary office is in Lower Manhattan, with an appointment-only meeting space at One World Trade Center, and it represents clients across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Westchester.
6. Konta Georges & Buza P.C.
- Attorney / Key Figures: Adam B. Konta, Robert W. Georges, and John P. Buza (Partners)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed
- Headquarters: The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway, Suite 900, New York, NY 10279
- Phone: (212) 710-5166
- Website: kontageorges.com
- Practice Areas: State and federal criminal defense (drug offenses, homicide, theft, weapons, DUI/DWI), civil rights litigation, personal injury
- Firm Size: Boutique partnership
- Google Rating: 4.9⭐ (74 reviews)
Two of the firm’s three named partners, John Buza and Robert Georges, previously served as prosecutors in New York City, while Adam Konta began his career as a public defender, giving the partnership perspective from both the prosecution and defense sides of the system. The firm describes senior-partner involvement across hearings and trials rather than delegating case management to junior associates, and it has represented clients in matters including full jury acquittals on murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and weapons-possession charges, according to firm-published case results. Konta Georges & Buza is based in the historic Woolworth Building in Lower Manhattan and represents clients across Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
7. The Ebanks Law Firm, PLLC
- Attorney / Key Figures: Alberto Ebanks (Founder)
- Founded: Alberto Ebanks was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1994, giving the firm roughly three decades of practice history
- Headquarters: 20 Vesey Street, Suite 500, New York, NY 10007
- Phone: (212) 766-4434
- Website: ebankslawfirm.com
- Practice Areas: State and federal criminal defense, DUI/DWI, white-collar crime
- Firm Size: Solo practitioner
- Google Rating: 4.9⭐ (98 reviews)
Alberto Ebanks, a Bronx native, began his legal career representing financial institutions before serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx. He later moved into private practice representing members of federal and local law-enforcement unions and, separately, professional athletes as a certified agent. His criminal defense caseload spans New York State’s 62 counties and all four federal districts in New York, and firm materials describe more than 100 trials over his career, along with representation of clients in entertainment and professional sports. The firm is based in Lower Manhattan near the courts and handles matters ranging from desk appearance tickets to complex federal cases.
8. Bachner & Associates, P.C.
- Attorney / Key Figures: Michael F. Bachner (Partner)
- Founded: 1988
- Headquarters: 39 Broadway, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10006 (also listed at 111 Broadway, Suite 701)
- Phone: (917) 639-5370
- Website: bhlawfirm.com (also bachnerfirm.com)
- Practice Areas: White-collar crime (securities fraud, insider trading, tax evasion, public corruption, RICO), traditional criminal defense (drug offenses, homicide, weapons)
- Firm Size: Small partnership
Michael Bachner entered private practice in 1988 after serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan DA’s Office and later as Deputy Bureau Chief in the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor; he also worked as in-house counsel for a NYSE member brokerage firm, giving him securities-industry experience that informs the firm’s white-collar practice. Firm materials describe representation in a range of securities-fraud, insider-trading, and public-corruption matters, along with several reported acquittals and declinations to prosecute in high-profile securities cases. The firm is based in Manhattan’s Financial District and also serves clients in New Jersey and Florida.
9. The Law Office of Jeffrey Chabrowe
- Attorney / Key Figures: Jeffrey Chabrowe (Founder)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed; Chabrowe left the Manhattan DA’s Office in 2005 after seven years as a prosecutor
- Headquarters: 521 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1729, New York, NY 10175 (entrance on 43rd Street)
- Phone: (212) 235-1510
- Website: chabrowe.com
- Practice Areas: Criminal defense, white-collar crime, cybercrime, drug crime defense, DWI, federal crimes, civil rights and police-brutality claims, post-conviction appeals
- Firm Size: Solo practitioner
- Google Rating: 5.0⭐ (149 reviews)
Jeffrey Chabrowe spent seven years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office before transitioning to defense work in 2005, giving him more than two decades of criminal-law experience overall. His caseload has included matters covered by the New York Times, New York Post, and New York Daily News, and his practice extends to civil-rights and police-brutality claims in addition to standard criminal defense, an area some competing solo practitioners do not handle. The firm is based in Midtown Manhattan and offers 24/7 availability for clients who have been arrested or are under investigation.
10. Moskowitz Colson Ginsberg & Schulman LLP
- Attorney / Key Figures: Avraham C. Moskowitz, Deborah Colson, Peter R. Ginsberg, and Eylan Schulman (Partners)
- Founded: Founding year not publicly disclosed; Deborah Colson has been licensed in New York since 1996
- Headquarters: One Battery Park Plaza, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10004
- Phone: (212) 257-6452
- Website: mcgsllp.com
- Practice Areas: Federal white-collar criminal defense (securities fraud, money laundering, health-care fraud, insider trading), national-security and violent-crime matters, internal investigations, appellate litigation, business disputes
- Firm Size: Boutique partnership
Moskowitz Colson Ginsberg & Schulman is a boutique firm built around federal criminal and regulatory defense. Partner Deborah Colson, a Harvard Law graduate, served as an Assistant Federal Defender in the Eastern District of New York from 2001 to 2006 before founding her own practice and later joining what became MCGS; her case history includes multiple federal jury acquittals, including matters involving securities fraud and drug-importation charges. The firm’s partners include two former federal prosecutors in addition to Colson’s federal-defender background, and the practice concentrates on high-stakes federal trials, internal corporate investigations, and appellate work rather than high-volume state court matters. MCGS is based in Lower Manhattan, near the federal courthouses it frequently appears before.
How to Choose the Right Criminal Defense Firm in New York City?
No single firm on this list is the right choice for every case. Outcomes in criminal cases depend heavily on the specific facts, the charges involved, and the assigned prosecutor and judge, not just the defense attorney’s resume. That said, a few factors are worth weighing when narrowing the field:
- Match the attorney’s background to your charge type. White-collar and securities cases call for a firm with relevant regulatory and financial experience, such as Bachner & Associates or Moskowitz Colson Ginsberg & Schulman. A straightforward misdemeanor or Desk Appearance Ticket case may be better served by a firm that specializes in fast turnaround and early dismissal before arraignment, like the Law Offices of Lance Fletcher. Not every firm is built for every kind of charge.
- Ask who will actually handle your case. Some firms are structured around a team of associate attorneys and paralegals, such as the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler or Greco Neyland, who describe an entirely prosecutor-trained team rather than a single point of contact. Others, like The Vitaliano Law Firm, are built around a single lead attorney handling matters directly. Neither structure is inherently better, but the trade-off (more coverage vs. more direct contact) is worth asking about before signing on.
- If your case touches family court or immigration too, consider whether that matters for firm choice. The Law Office of Tracy & Tracy pairs a criminal defense attorney with a family law attorney under one roof, and the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler runs criminal and immigration practices side by side, both useful when a case spans both areas since immigration consequences or custody proceedings often follow directly from a criminal charge. Plenty of clients are equally well served by using separate specialists for each, though.
- Confirm jurisdiction and court experience. New York City’s criminal courts are organized by borough, and a firm’s familiarity with the specific courthouse, judge, and prosecutor’s office handling your case can matter as much as its overall reputation.
- Treat online ratings as one data point, not the deciding factor. Review counts and star ratings vary by platform; a consultation and a direct conversation about your case will tell you more than a number.
Ultimately, the right attorney is the one with directly relevant experience for your specific charges, who you can reach and communicate with easily, and whose fee structure and approach you understand clearly before signing a retainer agreement.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for general informational and educational purposes only. While we strive to present accurate, up-to-date information compiled from public records and reputable sources, we make no guarantees regarding its completeness or accuracy. Users should conduct their own independent due diligence and verify all details directly with appropriate service providers or professionals before making any decisions. Past outcomes, reviews, or firm credentials cited on this site do not guarantee future results.
