Gottlieb Townsend

Robert C. Gottlieb is the founding partner of Gottlieb Townsend. He is highly sought after as a tenacious, effective and tireless fighter on behalf of clients facing criminal charges and investigations. He has forged his reputation as a successful trial attorney over more than 40 years of experience in fighting for clients charged with a wide range of the most serious crimes including murder, rape, extortion, political corruption, terrorism, money laundering Medicare and insurance fraud and federal and state tax crimes.

Mr. Gottlieb firmly believes that the best defense is dependent on undertaking a thorough investigation at the very outset of retention in an all-out effort to avoid prosecution whenever that is possible.In those cases where criminal charges have been filed, early investigation and exhaustive analysis of the evidence are an essential component of zealous and effective representation at trial.

Mr. Gottlieb has spent his entire professional life committed to fighting injustice wherever it is found. He and his firm proudly and successfully represented Jon-Adrian Velazquez for more than a decade to establish that he was wrongfully convicted of a 1998 murder. Mr. Velazquez was granted clemency and released from prison after serving more than 23 years in Sing Sing prison and was fully exonerated in 2024.MSNBC televised a 4-part series, “Sing Sing Chronicles” in November 2024 that documented Robert Gottlieb and his team’s contentious battle with the District Attorney and judiciary to exonerate Mr. Velazquez.

Paul Townsend is a partner at Gottlieb Townsend. He joined the firm in May 2019 and represents clients in a wide variety of white-collar and traditional criminal defense matters in federal and state courts both in New York and throughout the country. Mr. Townsend has obtained countless favorable results for his clients through non-prosecution agreements, motion practice, plea negotiations, hearings and trial.He has successfully tried cases in both the state and federal courts around the country on everything from driving while intoxicated to murder to facilitating multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes, and everything in between. Prior to his arrival at Gottlieb Townsend, Mr. Townsend worked for a boutique criminal defense practice and handled complex high-profile criminal litigation.Notably, Mr. Townsend was one of the four attorneys on the trial team representing Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera during his narcotics trafficking trial as leader of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel in the Eastern District of New York.

Mr. Townsend is also the creator and host of the popular legal podcast,In Summation: The Final Word. In it, Mr. Townsend examines some of the most famous, infamous – and often misunderstood – court cases to make headlines across America.

Kaylee S. Kreitenberg is an associate attorney at Gottlieb Townsend.Since joining the firm in 2021, she has become an integral part of the team with fierce oral advocacy as well as persuasive writing skills.Ms. Kreitenberg has earned critical success through motion practice and plea negotiations and has shown herself to be an impressive trial presence on direct and cross-examination.She has a passion for zealously defending clients’ rights as well as conducting thorough investigations into the underlying facts of all the firms’ cases.Her attention to detail and organization ensures that no fact, no matter how minute, escapes her consideration.

At the beginning of her legal career, Ms. Kreitenberg worked as an associate for a prominent California-based criminal defense practice, Geragos & Geragos, APC.While there, Ms. Kreitenberg was involved in high-profile criminal defense matters with allegations of money laundering, racketeering, sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and tax fraud.Ms. Kreitenberg also worked on civil litigation matters in jurisdictions across the country, which asserted claims for employment discrimination, defamation, bad faith and general business litigation.

Mr. Janey is Of Counsel at Gottlieb Townsend where he advises on complex civil and white-collar defense litigation matters. He was formerly a named partner of the predecessor firm, Gottlieb & Janey, where he was employed for nine years. Mr. Janey is currently the managing partner at The Janey Law Firm PC.

Mr. Janey's litigation experience ranges across a broad spectrum including securities litigation, financial services litigation, healthcare litigation and bankruptcy litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. He has considerable experience litigating securities matters, regulatory defense actions (e.g., actions commenced by the SEC), and complex healthcare matters (particularly those involving medical products distributors). In addition to New York State and Federal courts within the Second Circuit, Mr. Janey has appeared on many occasions in federal courts in Michigan where he is admitted to practice, as well as federal courts in Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Alabama, and state courts in California and Nevada.

Founded over 40 years ago by Robert C. Gottlieb, Gottlieb Townsend has evolved to become a highly respected and renowned national firm of highly experienced criminal defense trial lawyers. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in the fight for justice on behalf of our clients who have been charged with the most serious state and federal crimes including white collar offenses, murder, rape, extortion, political corruption, terrorism, money laundering, Medicare fraud and federal and state tax crimes.

Because of the devastating personal and professional impact of being charged with a crime, we firmly believe that the best defense begins with a thorough investigation at the very outset of our retention in an all-out effort to avoid criminal prosecution. If that is not possible, our attorneys are fully prepared and armed to take the case to trial and zealously and effectively defend our clients before a jury. Many of our cases involve issues of mental illness requiring that we work hand in hand with forensic psychiatrists to avoid mentally ill clients being held responsible for conduct that otherwise would be criminal.

We pride ourselves in providing close, personal attention to each of our clients, whether the client is a corporation or an individual. Our client approach is a hallmark of our practice. We are committed to managing costs without sacrificing the quality of legal representation and the time and effort necessary to protect our clients’ legal interests. We achieve this balance by carefully selecting matters in which we believe our firm can offer outstanding representation while delivering a competitive advantage.