Lawrence Gerzog

Of Counsel

Lawrence D. Gerzog is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer with more than four decades of experience litigating complex criminal and civil matters. He has practiced in federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts and has handled appeals before the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, and Third Circuits and matters before the United States Supreme Court.

Larry brings to his criminal defense practice the perspective of a former federal prosecutor as well as decades of experience representing individuals accused of serious crimes. He began his career at the New York law firm Webster & Sheffield, where, at age 26, he tried his first federal case and obtained a judgment of nearly $1 million for his client.

Larry later served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, prosecuting narcotics, white-collar, and public-corruption cases. During his tenure, he handled more than 100 prosecutions, including more than two dozen trials and appeals. He served as lead counsel in major international narcotics prosecutions involving prominent members of the Cali and Medellín cartels.

After returning to private practice, Larry developed an extensive criminal trial and appellate practice representing clients in federal and state investigations, prosecutions, direct appeals, post-conviction proceedings, and habeas corpus litigation. His work has involved allegations of racketeering, securities and wire fraud, narcotics trafficking, public corruption, kidnapping, homicide, obstruction of justice, firearms offenses, and other serious federal and state crimes.

Larry’s notable appellate and post-conviction results include securing federal habeas relief in Cotto v. Mann (EDNY 1998). The district court concluded that the improper admission and use of a non-testifying co-defendant’s statements had caused actual prejudice and made a fair trial impossible and granted the writ.

In United States v. Johnson, (Second Circuit 2017) on appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Larry successfully challenged a guilty plea that subjected the client to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. The Second Circuit held that the plea had not been entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. The court vacated both the guilty plea and the judgment, directed that the case be reassigned, and remanded it for further proceedings.

In United States v. Royer, (EDNY 2005), Larry represented his client in a complex 12-week federal racketeering and securities-fraud trial and obtained a mixed verdict. The jury acquitted on 23 counts, including every charged count of extortion and wire fraud, while convicting the client on other charges.

In addition to his courtroom practice, Larry has taught first-year legal writing at Fordham University School of Law since 1995 and has participated in the Cardozo School of Law Intensive Trial Advocacy Program since 1993. He previously taught at Brooklyn Law School. His longstanding work as a legal educator reflects the same emphasis on careful analysis, persuasive writing, and disciplined advocacy that he brings to his clients’ cases.

Larry graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School. At Columbia, he served on the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and was a semifinalist in the Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court Competition.