Asset forfeiture attorney and authority Steven L. Kessler practices white collar criminal law in New York. He litigates cases of first impression and has been involved with many asset forfeiture cases of national significance. Prior to entering private practice, Kessler was head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office in New York, where he supervised and litigated all
phases of forfeiture and related matters. In that capacity, he served as a member of the Forfeiture Law Advisory Group of the New York State District Attorney’s Association. Kessler is a nationally recognized authority in the field of forfeiture law. He has written and lectured extensively on topics relating to forfeiture. He is the author of Civil and Criminal Forfeiture: Federal and State Practice (West Group 1993 & Supp. 2014), a three-volume treatise analyzing the forfeiture and RICO statutes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia and the major federal forfeiture provisions. He received the Otto L. Walter Distinguished Writing Award from New York Law School in June 2000 for his highly acclaimed one volume handbook, New York Criminal and Civil Forfeiture (LexisNexis 1999 & Supp. 2014). In addition, Mr. Kessler is a contributor to the New York Law Journal on issues relating to asset forfeiture and criminal law and is the author and Revisions Editor of more than ten chapters in Weinstein, Korn & Miller’s New York Civil Practice, including the chapter “New York Forfeiture.” He is widely quoted and cited in court opinions and media of legal and general circulation nationwide. Kessler is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School and a frequent lecturer at CLE programs throughout the county, and is listed in Who’s Who in American Law. Kessler has been rated as a Super Lawyer since 2012 and one of the Top Lawyers since 2013, both of which are ratings by peers in the legal profession. As an Arbitrator in the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Steven L. Kessler served as member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Small Claims Arbitrators. He also served as Treasurer of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and was co-Chair of the association’s Forfeiture sub-committee. Kessler is a member of the Forfeiture Abuse Task Force of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was a member of the White Collar Crime Committee of the American Bar Association and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association. A graduate of the Cornell Law Mr. Kessler served two terms as Chair of the 4,000 member General Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association. He served for 12 years as editor of One on One, the General Practice Section’s highly acclaimed newsletter, and edited the Section’s monthly Fax Update. He was a member of the NYSBA’s House of Delegates for eight years and a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. Kessler served as a member of the Civil Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and served for three years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bronx County Bar Association. Kessler is a member of the New York and Connecticut Bars and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He is admitted to practice before the First, Second and Seventh federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and has been admitted to practice in no fewer than nine state and federal districts throughout the country.
