Meet Fred Sosinsky
New York City Criminal Defense Lawyer Fred Sosinsky
Frederick L. Sosinsky has been a criminal defense lawyer for more than 30 years. After growing up on Long Island, New York, he attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated cum laude in 1983. In 1986, he earned his J.D. with honors from Fordham University School of Law, graduating in the top 10% of his law school class.
Fred has tried more than 70 cases to verdict before juries and litigated hundreds of pre-and post-trial evidentiary hearings. A distinguished leader amongst his colleagues, Fred presently serves as the President of the New York Criminal Bar Association, the largest professional organization of public and private practitioners in the NYC Metro area.
After working for a large corporate firm while in law school, Fred started his legal career as a public defender in New York City where at a young age, he truly honed his litigation skills. In his time at that office, he prepared and tried to verdict more cases than almost any other attorney had ever before done. After three years, he was recruited to become an associate – and later was made a partner – at the highly-regarded white-collar boutique, Litman, Asche, Lupkin & Gioiella, where Fred was mentored by a legendary criminal lawyer, the late, great Jack T. Litman. During his time at Litman, Asche, Fred represented scores of individuals and business entities in criminal matters in the state and federal courts. Together with Litman, Fred tried a number of high-profile cases, none more so than the case of Oliver Jovanovic, then a doctoral candidate at Columbia University unjustly accused of kidnapping and raping a Barnard undergrad who he had met on the internet during the early days of the web.
Fred serves on the Screening Committee of the Appellate Division First Department’s Assigned Counsel Plan and previously served for years on the City Bar’s Criminal Courts Committee. He has also served as a representative of the City Bar to Judicial Screening Panels of the Democratic Party in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He is a longtime member of the City Bar, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and, of course, the New York Criminal Bar Association, on whose board he served for almost 20 years prior to being elected its President.
In addition to trial victories, as a result of detailed investigations and aggressive motion practice, Fred has had hundreds of serious cases dismissed by courts prior to trial. His federal sentencing advocacy has led scores of clients to be sentenced to far shorter terms of imprisonment than sentencing guidelines and prosecutors’ demands have called for — and often enough to no time at all. Fred has won clients new trials and freedom from prison. Significantly, Fred has three decades of experience successfully representing anxious individuals seeking to avoid arrest in the first place after discovering they are under criminal investigation. In 30 plus years in the business, Fred has seen it all. No matter is too complex or too simple, too big or too small.
Many of Fred’s cases have been closely watched by the media. For a sampling of the type of cases Fred handles, the clients he represents, and the successful outcomes for them, click here
Fred started his own practice a decade later and is proud that his office is back in the very suite at which he worked with his colleagues at Litman, Asche beginning thirty years ago. Fred’s practice is primarily in the federal and state courts in New York State although from time to time he is retained to represent clients charged in U.S. District Courts and state courts in jurisdictions throughout the country.
Fred’s clients have included those under investigation for or charged with a wide-range of serious criminal conduct in federal and state criminal courts. Much of Fred’s practice involves representing those charged with white-collar offenses such as conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, tax crimes, health care fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Also, a significant part of his practice is representing clients indicted for conspiring to or committing narcotics or drug trafficking and possession. Fred also represents individuals accused of state and federal crimes such as:
For three decades, Fred’s clients have placed their faith in him and the investigators and forensic experts he works with. In a remarkable number of cases in the N.Y. state and federal courts, he has obtained the most favorable results for his clients. Whether winning acquittals for them at trial, gaining dismissal of their serious criminal charges, resolving their cases with positive outcomes, or avoiding altogether the filing of charges while under investigation, Fred battles for his clients with a passion and foresight rarely observed in criminal lawyers. Fred is recognized and respected by his peers, adversaries, and judges as a leader amongst the NYC criminal defense profession. Currently, Fred serves as the President of the New York Criminal Bar Association, the largest professional organization of defense counsel in the New York City Metropolitan area. Few criminal litigators can match these attributes — and guarantee clients the personal attention and devotion to their causes that they deserve.
Fred has regularly taught and/or moderated continuing legal education programs for the legal profession in such subjects as Ethics for the Criminal Practitioner, Federal Bail Applications, Federal Sentencing, Federal Plea Agreements, Successful Motions to Dismiss NY State Court Indictments, and Access to Databases of Police Misconduct. Fred has also lectured at several law schools in the area of criminal law and has appeared as a legal commentator on Court TV. He is frequently sought out by the media for insight into their coverage of criminal cases taking place in New York and federal courts.
Fred is proud to have been selected for years as a New York City Super Lawyer as a leader in the field of criminal defense. Fred also was selected as a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 attorneys.
Fred is admitted to practice before New York State Courts as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York.
He lives with his wife and two children in Bergen County, New Jersey.