Brian Shiffrin, Esq.

Brian has been a criminal defense attorney for more than three decades, concentrating on post-conviction representation.  He has handled thousands of criminal appeals, arguing at every level of appellate court, including the United States Supreme Court.  He has represented clients in post-conviction proceedings of every kind.

Brian’s experience and expertise have enabled him to achieve positive results for many of his clients.  On appeal, Brian has obtained numerous reversals and modifications of convictions, including murder convictions.  He has had convictions set aside at the trial court level through filing Article 440 motions, and he has successfully petitioned the federal court for writs of habeas corpus on behalf of his incarcerated clients whose imprisonment violated their constitutional rights.  Brian has also successfully moved for writs of error coram nobis, giving his clients an opportunity to have their appeals reopened.

Before joining ETKS, Brian served as the First Assistant Monroe County Public Defender and was in charge of the office’s Appeals Bureau.  Over the course of his career, Brian has held several prominent leadership positions in the legal community.  He is the past-President of the Rochester Chapter of American Inns of Court, a former member of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Legal Services Project, and a former Trustee of the Monroe County Bar Association, where he also twice served as the Chair of the Criminal Justice Section.

Not only does Brian use his experience and expertise to provide his clients with the highest level of legal representation, he gives back to the legal profession.  He is frequently asked by the New York State Defender’s Association, the Monroe County Bar Association, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Appellate Division, Third and Fourth Departments, to lecture at continuing legal education seminars on criminal trial and appellate practice.  He is the co-author of the chapter on Appeals in Criminal Cases in the New York Bar Association’s Criminal Practice Handbook, and he has taught courses on wrongful convictions and courts at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Brian’s dedication to excellence in advocacy earned him the Raymond J. Pauley Award in 2009 in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the Monroe County Bar Association’s ongoing process of education of the profession, the Nathaniel Award in 2008 for going above and beyond the call of duty in the cause of justice, the Journey to Justice Award (presented by the Judicial Process Commission) in 1996 for his work in improving the community, and the Monroe County Bar Association’s Charles F. Crimi Memorial Award in 1992 in recognition of his dedication to providing legal services to the poor.