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Jose G. Santiago chairs the Criminal Defense practice group as well as the Labor and Employment practice group. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York as well as before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and Southern District of New York. He is bilingual (Spanish-English) and an active member of several local and national bar associations.
After law school, Mr. Santiago accepted an appointment as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City where he prosecuted hundreds of cases, ranging from DWI to theft to drug possession. He was tasked with conducting hearings and trials, and learned the insider’s perspective necessary to defend these same cases as a defense lawyer.
After serving as a prosecutor, Mr. Santiago used his litigation experience as a prosecutor to dedicate his practice not only to defending individuals accused of crimes, but also in assisting employees in protecting their rights against current or former employers. He has several years of experience representing employees in labor and employment matters such as employment discrimination in the workplace based on age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, and sexual orientation; sexual harassment; retaliation and retaliatory discharge; wrongful termination; wage and hour litigation, including failure to pay overtime wages and other violations of wage and hour laws; reviewing non-compete agreements; whistleblower actions; and representation individuals before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and New York State Division of Human Rights.