Known for her unwavering dedication to her clients and rigorous advocacy, Justine obtains jury acquittals in tough cases, wins pretrial motions to dismiss, and routinely achieves favorable sentencing outcomes. Many of her clients have had their charges reduced or were able to avoid criminal or civil liability altogether. Justine’s experience includes a wide range of complex financial and legal issues, including insider trading, securities fraud, bank fraud, campaign finance fraud, RICO, mortgage fraud, terrorism, obstruction of justice, bribery, and tax fraud. She has also represented executives, directors and officers, as well as companies and nonprofit entities, in sensitive and complex federal and state grand jury proceedings, internal investigations, and investigations conducted by government agencies including the SEC, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the CFTC, and the CFPB.

Justine has been honored as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an exclusive association consisting of top trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. This invitation-only fellowship recognizes experienced trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional advocacy skills, ethical conduct, professionalism, and collegiality. She has frequently lectured on trial skills and federal criminal defense. She is ranked by Chambers USA in Band 2, White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, and has consistently been recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawdragon, and Best Lawyers – USA. She serves on several boards and is currently vice-president of the NYCDL, and a board member of the Center for Appellate Litigation and the Federal Defenders of New York. She previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Federal Defenders of New York. In 2022, she received the Gideon’s Promise Ian Yankwitt Equalizer Award in recognition for her leadership and work in seeking compassionate release for incarcerated individuals during the pandemic.

Representative matters

• Represent musician charged with AI music streaming fraud in federal court.
• Obtained a probationary sentence for a bookkeeper charged in the federal NXIVM RICO prosecution.
• Obtained dismissal of federal corruption charges against a corporate advisor after three-week trial ended in mistrial and case remanded after appeal.
• Secured the outright dismissal of campaign finance charges in state court.
• Obtained the full dismissal of federal criminal charges against a senior United Nations employee in a visa fraud and foreign labor contracting prosecution.
• Obtained no jail time for a former prominent neurological researcher after he pled guilty to the theft of thousands of dollars of government funds.
• Obtained symbolic two-day sentence for individual charged with participating in a transnational repression scheme and money laundering conspiracy.
• Obtained probationary sentence for Guatemalan soccer chief in the FIFA corruption prosecution.
• Obtained acquittal on murder charges following two-week federal trial.
• Obtained full acquittal of all charges in federal weapons trial in Southern District of New York.
• Successfully convinced New York District Attorney’s Office not to seek criminal charges of check cashing business principal in large scale insurance fraud prosecution in the construction industry.
• Represented general counsel of real estate development firm in investigation conducted by the Real Estate Enforcement Unit of the New York Attorney General’s Office.
• Successfully convinced U.S. Attorney’s Office not to seek criminal charges against doctor for his participation in the INSYS speakers’ program.
• Represented the chief financial officer of a $200 million charity investigated by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
• Represented a real estate consultant in a federal election fraud prosecution.
• Represented individual charged in federal Amazon bribery prosecution in the Western District of Washington.
• Obtained a probationary sentence for a business owner charged with a $9 million tax fraud prosecution in the Eastern District of New York.
• Obtained compassionate release for clients incarcerated during COVID-19 despite vehement objection from the government, including a 72-year-old client who had served 12 years of a 20-year sentence for a non-violent drug offense.
• Represented a hedge fund analyst in a $57 million insider trading prosecution in the Southern District of New York.
• Represented employees of one of the nation’s largest mortgage service providers in a CFTB investigation.
• Represented a senior hedge fund executive in an SEC insider trading investigation.
• Represented a manager at a national energy company in an SEC investigation.
• Represented executive of a Fortune 100 Wall Street financial institution in federal RMBS investigations.
• Represented a healthcare company employee in a DOJ health insurance fraud investigation.
• Obtained a deferred prosecution in the Southern District of New York for an individual charged with commercial bribery.

Recognitions

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers

Band 2 in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations – New York, Chambers USA (2020-present)

Recipient of the 2022 Gideon’s Promise Ian Yankwitt Equalizer Award in recognition for leadership and work in seeking compassionate release for inmates during the pandemic.

Named as a Top-Rated White Collar Crimes Attorney (2013-2024) as well as one of the Top 100 Lawyers (2018, 2020-2023) and the Top 50 Women in New York (2017-2023), Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers

Ranked in Criminal Defense: White-Collar by U.S. News – Best Lawyers (2016-present)

Recognized in Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America: White-Collar & Investigations (2024-2025)

Affiliations

Board of Directors, Federal Defenders of New York Inc.

Vice-President, New York Council of Defense Lawyers

Thought Leadership Subcommittee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association

Board of Directors, Center for Appellate Litigation

News and Publications

Moderator, “Sentencing: Effective Mitigation in White Collar Cases,” American Bar Association White Collar Institute (2025)

Moderator, “Effective Motion Practice for Winning Trials,” American Bar Association White Collar Institute (2024)

Panelist, “Hot Topics in White Collar Law,” New York Council of Defense Lawyers (Spring 2023)

Panelist, “Fundamentals of Trial Practice II,” American Bar Association White Collar Institute (March 2022)

Panelist, “Winning a Non-COVID Based Compassionate Release Application,” New York County Bar Association (January 2021)

Panelist, “Compassionate Release and COVID-19,” Federal Defenders of New York (May 2020)

Panelist, “COVID-19 & Federal Prisons,” Federal Bar Council (April 2020)

Panelist, “Current Issues in Cross-Border and International Prosecutions,” New York Council of Defense Lawyers (October 2017)