James A. Schiff

James A. Schiff is the Head of Criminal Litigation for the Blanch Law Firm. Mr. Schiff has over 10 years of experience with the New York County District Attorney’s Office. While working in the Trial Division, he prosecuted over 500 cases overseeing every stage of litigation from pre-arrest investigation through sentence; including initial case assessment, trial strategy, complaint drafting, arraignment, witness interviews, search warrant drafting, legal research, charging decisions, and all communications with opposing counsel. Mr Schiff’s track record with the NY ADA is exemplary: –Conducted more than 80 grand jury presentations for attempted murder, pattern robberies and burglaries, assault, grand larceny, forgery, identity theft, coercion, and narcotics trafficking.

–Appointed to the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Unit responsible for investigating and prosecuting identity theft and complex high-technology crimes, including bank fraud, cyber impersonation, and cyber credit card fraud

–Conducted interrogations of more than 100 defendants and interviewed hundreds of other witnesses

–Developed and supervised confidential informants, negotiated and drafted cooperation agreements, and structured investigative plans

–Conducted complex plea negotiations with opposing attorneys, successfully resolving hundreds of cases pre-trial

–Drafted pre-trial/post-trial motions, briefs, search warrants, and applications for electronic eavesdropping –Argued before the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division: First Department

–Supervised and trained teams of attorneys and New York City Police Department officials in the investigation and prosecution of all criminal activity within specific high-crime housing developments

–Instructed ADAs in workshops on taking statements, complaint drafting, pre-trial hearings, grand jury presentations, and trial advocacy

Mr. Schiff has also worked with the Assistant District Attorney’s Investigation Division: Money Laundering & Tax Crimes Unit. There, he investigated and prosecuted complex white-collar criminal cases including money laundering, tax evasion, scheme to defraud, corporate identity theft, falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy. Mr. Schiff is ‘Of Counsel’ to The Blanch Law Firm

EDUCATION

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Juris Doctor, 2001

Honors: Moot Court Honor Society

Achievements: First place in the annual Widener Law Corporate Moot Court Competition

Lafayette College Bachelor of Arts, 1996; Government and Law major, English minor