Theodore Green

Partner
Phone: (914)948-5656
Fax: (914)948-8730
Email: theosgreen@msn.com

After graduating from Columbia University School of law in 1980, Theodore (”Ted”) Green began what has become a long career as an appeals and trial lawyer, first writing civil appeals with the law firm Coudert Brothers and, beginning in 1982, briefing and arguing criminal appeals with the elite Criminal Appeals Bureau of New York City’s Legal Aid Society, one of the most highly regarded appeals offices in the country. There, his successes included convincing an appellate court to dismiss murder charges against a client for insufficient evidence, leading to the client’s release from a 25 year to life prison sentence.

Mr. Green believes strongly that appellate experience makes for a better trial lawyer and trial experience makes for a better appeals lawyer. In writing and arguing appeals, Mr. Green uses his own experience as a trial lawyer to bring dry legal points to life. As a trial lawyer, Mr. Green also know well that getting good results — whether by negotiating a favorable deal or taking a case all the way to verdict — often requires more than legal research and skillful writing. It also means getting out of the office to find witnesses, issue subpoenas, visit the scene and confer with experts. His well-rounded background has made Mr. Green a “lawyer’s lawyer”, often called upon by fellow attorneys for advice and assistance.

Since forming a partnership with Richard Willstatter in 1989, Mr. Green has represented clients both in appeals and at the trial level, ranging from misdemeanor cases in local criminal courts to serious felony matters in New York state courts and Federal trial courts.

Among his many criminal appeals, Mr. Green argued the cases of a father, caught up in a bitter divorce and custody battle, who was wrongly accused of raping his young daughter and sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison. Through painstaking review of the trial transcript and the medical evidence, Mr. Green convinced a New York appellate court to reverse the conviction due to misconduct by the District Attorney’s office, leading to the client’s complete exoneration.

More recently, Mr. Green won a search and seizure case before the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. On the Federal side, he won dismissal of several charges against a physician charged with visa fraud, which set important precedent on issues of Federal venue.

Mr. Green also has a successful civil appeals practice, obtaining winning results in a wide range of non-criminal cases, including civil practice, matrimonial matters, family court, personal injury, commercial disputes and property forfeiture.