Gerald Bernard Lefcourt is an American criminal defense lawyer. He has represented a number of high-profile clients, including financier and registered

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, the Black Panthers, activist/author Abbie Hoffman, hotelier Harry Helmsley, former

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Biography

Lefcourt graduated from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

in the class of 1967, and heads a firm in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

that specializes in criminal defense. A high-profile trial lawyer, Lefcourt is a leading spokesman of the defense bar, a past President of the

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and d ...

and the New York Criminal Bar Association, and a founder of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Lefcourt is also a lecturer and panelist and has authored publications on legal subjects including asset forfeiture, legal ethics, wire-tapping, plea bargaining, subpoenas to lawyers, and representation of grand jury witnesses. He was named as among the best

trial attorney A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

s in New York by the

New York Law Journal The ''New York Law Journal'', founded in 1888, is a legal periodical covering the legal profession in New York, United States. Background The newspaper, published Monday through Friday, provides daily coverage of civil and criminal cases fr ...

's 1983 "Who's Who in Criminal Defense Bar", and received the

New York State Bar The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; ...

's Outstanding Practitioner Award in 1985 and 1993, and the

' highest honor, the Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, in 1993. In 1997 he was presented the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award by The New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Lefcourt was a featured personality in the 2006 documentary '' Giuliani Time.'' His victories have included a full acquittal of rap mogul and Murder Inc. founder

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

on federal money laundering charges. Lefcourt was an attorney of "aider and abettor" non-KMPG employee David Amir Makov, in the 2008 federal KPMG tax shelter fraud prosecution, believed to be the largest tax fraud case ever brought in the history of the United States. In 2007, while criminal defense lawyers were finalizing Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal, Epstein donated $250,000 to the Washington-based Foundation for Criminal Justice, where Gerald Lefcourt was a board member in 2007, according to public filings.

Personal life

Lefcourt has been married twice. His first wife was Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, the daughter of Mortimer Sackler. Lefcourt has a son, Jeffrey Lefcourt, and two daughters, Karen Lefcourt and Alison Lefcourt. Lefcourt is married to Robin Lewis Lefcourt.

References

External links

Official website
Brooklyn Law School alumni Criminal defense lawyers New York (state) lawyers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sackler family {{US-law-bio-stub