For over a decade, Paul V. Prestia, Esq. has zealously fought for the rights of his clients; defending the accused and protecting the abused. As such, Mr. Prestia has been recognized as one of the preeminent NYC attorneys in his field. In 2016 and 2017, he was selected to New York Metro Super Lawyers list by Thompson Reuters for his efforts in criminal defense and civil rights litigation. Moreover, Mr. Prestia has become one of the leading civil rights and criminal justice reform advocates in New York City speaking at 2016 American Justice Summit and at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers during their Annual Conference in West Palm Beach this past August.
Paul Prestia has lectured at UCLA in his candid lecture series “Kaleif Browder and The Extraordinary Quest for Justice” In addition, Mr. Prestia has addressed law students at UCLA School of Law, St. John’s University School of Law, New York Law School, American University School of Law, and Miami Law School in his candid lecture series “Kalief Browder and The Extraordinary Quest for Justice”. He has appeared on Huff Post Live, talking about the Kalief Browder case. Mr. Prestia has also provided legal commentary on MSNBC, CNN, and Huff Post Live and his cases have been covered by The New Yorker Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times., The NY Daily News and The New York Post. In March 2017 Mr. Prestia will be featured as himself in the Spike TV docu-series ‘Time: The Kalief Browder Story’.
Mr. Prestia is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in the Southern and Eastern Districts in Federal Court 2nd Circuit. He received his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.
Bar Admissions
- New York
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
Education
- St. John’s University School of Law, New York, New York
Honors and Awards
- New York Metro Super Lawyers list by Thompson Reuters, 2016 – 2017
Classes / Seminars
- Lecturer, “Kaleif Browder and The Extraordinary Quest for Justice”