Benjamin Brafman is the principal of a eight-lawyer firm, Brafman & Associates, P.C., located in Manhattan. Mr. Brafman's firm specializes in criminal defense.
Mr. Brafman received his law degree from Ohio Northern University, in 1974, graduating with Distinction and serving as Manuscript Editor of The Law Review. He went on to earn a Masters of Law Degree (LL.M.) in Criminal Justice from New York University Law School. In May of 2014, Mr. Brafman was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Ohio Northern University Law School.
Mr. Brafman is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and in 1997, was selected by New York Magazine as the "Best Criminal Defense Lawyer in New York." He was the recipient of the "Outstanding Private Criminal Defense Practitioner Award" for 2005 from the New York State Bar Association, and in March
2006 Mr. Brafman received the Norman Ostrow Award for outstanding achievement in the field of White Collar Criminal Defense by the New York Council of Defense Lawyers. In January 2007, Mr. Brafman was presented with the "first" ever Clarence Darrow Award for Distinguished Practitioner by the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In March 2014, he also received the Robert M. Morgenthau Award from the Police Athletic League for outstanding achievements in the field of Criminal Defense, and most recently, Mr. Brafman was awarded the Pursuit of Justice Award from The American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
Mr. Brafman, a former Assistant District Attorney in the Rackets Bureau of the New York County District Attorney's Office, has been in private practice since 1980. He has represented a wide range of high-profile celebrities, business leaders, lawyers and medical professionals in major criminal cases throughout the country, Canada, Europe, Israel, and South Africa including Jay Z, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Plaxico Burress, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Martin Shkreli and currently Harvey Weinstein. Mr. Brafman's acquittal record in complex criminal trials is among the highest in New York City and he lectures widely throughout the United States on issues related to trial advocacy.
