Veteran prosecutors launch new law firm on Long Island

Mark Lesko, James Miskiewicz and Anthony La Pinta / Courtesy of La Pinta, Lesko & Miskiewicz
Veteran prosecutors launch new law firm on Long Island

by: Adina Genn //June 10, 2025// Long Island Business News

Mark Lesko, former acting U.S. attorney, partners with James Miskiewicz and Anthony La Pinta to form a new law firm.

The new firm focuses on federal and state criminal defense, civil litigation, land use, zoning, and civil rights cases.

Lesko and Miskiewicz were previously with national law firm Greenberg Traurig.

La Pinta has 35 years of experience in criminal defense and civil rights cases, with strong ties to Long Island’s legal community.

Veteran federal prosecutors Mark Lesko and James Miskiewicz – both former shareholders at the national law firm Greenberg Traurig – have teamed up with prominent criminal defense attorney Anthony La Pinta. The three have launched La Pinta, Lesko & Miskiewicz, a law firm with offices in Hauppauge and Mineola.

The three partners have deep ties to Long Island, bringing to the firm a focus on federal and state criminal defense, civil litigation, land use and zoning, energy matters, environmental issues, personal injury cases and civil rights litigation.

“We’ve been friends and former trial adversaries for almost 25 years, and we’ve always had the utmost respect for each other,” the partners said in a joint statement.

“The opportunity to combine our talents and experiences to form a top-tier criminal defense and litigation law firm is extremely exciting, and we plan to grow the firm to serve additional market opportunities on Long Island and the New York City metropolitan region,” they said.

Lesko had previously served as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division in Washington, D.C.

Among his cases as a longtime federal prosecutor, Lesko served on the trial team in the prosecution and trial conviction of Keith Raniere, who led the cult-like organization Nxivm. Lesko was also a three-time elected Brookhaven Town supervisor. Previously, he served as vice president for economic development at Hofstra University and executive director of Accelerate Long Island, a regional fund investing in startup companies based out of Long Island’s universities and research laboratories. Lesko is also a member of the Merit Selection Panel for U.S. Magistrate Judges in the EDNY.

La Pinta is a federal and state criminal defense attorney and trial attorney for 35 years. He has represented defendants in high-profile cases on Long Island and New York City, and also focuses on civil rights and personal injury cases. A member of the Board of Trustees for the Long Island Power Authority, La Pinta also serves on the New York State Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District. He is a former president of the Suffolk Criminal Bar Association and past chairperson of the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

Miskiewicz previously served as a federal prosecutor for over 25 years as an assistant U.S. attorney (AUSA) in the EDNY and a trial attorney in DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section in Washington, D.C. As an AUSA, Miskiewicz handled high-profile criminal cases in EDNY, and led the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in Brooklyn. Miskiewicz spent several years leading the EDNY’s Long Island Criminal Division as its deputy chief. He previously served as deputy general counsel at the Long Island Power Authority.

“LaPinta and Lesko instantly become one of the go-to law firms on Long Island,” Kevin Law, executive vice president and partner at Tritec, former CEO of the Long Island Association, and former managing partner of Nixon Peabody’s Long Island office, told LIBN.