Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco, LLP, a boutique criminal defense, appellate, personal injury and civil rights and commercial litigation firm with offices in New York City and on Long Island, is proud to announce that Vincent Rivellese has joined the firm in its best-in-class appeals and post-conviction practice.
Mr. Rivellese, a former prosecutor, spent the last 20 years of his public service career focusing exclusively on post-conviction cases, and has worked in four New York counties for four different district attorneys and a judge, both as a trial and appellate litigator.
He began his career as a trial attorney for New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, where he tried cases for almost three years before he transferred to appeals for four more years. Mr. Rivellese then worked as law clerk to the Honorable William C. Donnino, a trial judge who sat in Bronx, Queens, and finally Nassau County, for another four years. Mr. Rivellese was then rehired by Robert Morgenthau as a senior appellate attorney, worked through the entire administration of Cyrus Vance and into the administration of Alvin Bragg, and finally transferred to Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark’s office in the same capacity for three more years.
Besides handling hundreds of state appeals, Mr. Rivellese has also briefed, argued, and supervised dozens of habeas corpus matters in the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In addition to his busy practice, Mr. Rivellese served for over 20 years as a member of the New York Office of Court Administration’s Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, which drafts model jury instructions for the benefit of New York State judges, lawyers, and litigants.
He also has served actively on other committees, has taught legal writing at New York Law School, and has published articles and lectured on New York criminal law topics.
Mr. Rivellese graduated with an A.B. from Harvard University, and a J.D. cum laude from The American University, Washington College of Law.