So where did you end up going?

What ended up happening was I went to the University of Arizona for my undergraduate career and then I went to University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  After being out West for 8 years, between undergraduate and law school, it was important for me to come back East to be near my family. 

 

What did you study while you were in undergrad?

I started as a political science major, but was somewhat bored, so I decided to double major in political science and philosophy.  I liked philosophy so much that it was the only time in my life that I ever considered pursuing a career other than law.  I even told my parents that I was considering going to philosophy graduate school and getting my PhD in order to become a philosophy professor.  They said that would be fine, but that they wouldn’t pay for me to “philosophize”…so that “gentle financial coercion” pushed me towards law school.  It was the right decision.

 

Were you always interested in criminal law? Or is that something that just happened for you?

I always knew I wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer.  I always have been passionate about being a criminal defense attorney for philosophical reasons.  When I was really young I saw a television show about criminal defendants being appointed counsel, which obviously was a good thing.   But then I was shocked to see the lawyers were real estate lawyers and other disciplines that had no knowledge of criminal law.  The criminal defendants’ liberty and freedom were on the line.  It did not seem right.  So, I chose to become a criminal defense lawyer for three philosophical reasons:  One, I wanted to provide quality representation for indigent and non-indigent persons accused of criminal offenses.  Two, I wanted to protect persons, both those accused and all of society, from unwarranted governmental intrusions.  Criminal defense lawyers are the ones that defend many of our fundamental rights set out in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  And, three, I wanted to fight against unjust laws and punishments, such as the death penalty, mandatory-sentence drug laws, and the like.  From a practical standpoint, it also is more fun to be in court arguing than sitting behind a desk all day. 

Your background reads very liberal, so it makes sense that you ended up doing criminal defense work.  So you say always wanted to be an attorney, but where did that come from?

From a very young age, my parents always talked to me about becoming a lawyer or a doctor; being a Jewish boy from Margate, those were the career options presented to me.  But, I always found the law interesting.  Growing up, I always found the news stories about the law the most interesting and I always found the shows about the law, although they were overly dramatized, the most entertaining. I can remember in high school, the show at the time was ‘L.A. Law’ – way before your time – and in law school it was ‘The Practice.’  These days, I cannot watch those types of shows because they are too unrealistic.  

 

After law school, what was your career path leading up to present day?

After law school, I was a Public Defender in Philadelphia from 1995-1999, and I worked my way into a unit that tried high profile jury trials in Philadelphia.  I tried one high profile case as a young PD, in which my client was accused of a gunpoint carjacking of a University of Pennsylvania student.  My client was acquitted of all charges. As a result of that trial and the publicity, I think it impressed, for lack of a better word, the Philadelphia legal community and I was pursued by some of the big firms, including Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.  I interviewed there and was hired.  I only stayed for three months, however. I was not in court at all.  I was doing document review and other menial work.  I was working at 10:00 p.m. on a Friday night, when I decided it just wasn’t for me. I called the First Assistant Public Defender and told him that, if he could get me back into court trying cases, I would return immediately after my two weeks notice. He said they would take me back whenever I could get there.  So, I gave my two weeks’ notice and returned to the Public Defender’s office.  I stayed at the Public Defender’s office for another year until 2000, at which time my wife, Kirsten, became pregnant with our first child.  When that happened, we knew we had to make the decision of whether to stay in Philly and establish our careers there or come back to the Shore.  We both really liked the Shore, so we moved back and I got job at Jacobs & Barbone.  After two years there, which was an excellent learning experience, I decided to open my own firm.

What made you decide to open your own firm?

Well, while at Jacobs & Barbone, there was a period during which I had worked for 17 days in a row with a low-grade fever. I passed out while working at the office and I was rushed to the ER at Atlantic City Medical Center.  I remember they didn’t have enough beds, so I was just lying on the floor of the hospital.  I remember looking up at the ceiling and that’s when I knew that as much as I enjoyed Jacobs & Barbone and the people there, if I was going to work that hard, it was going to be for me. Shortly after that incident, I gave my notice and opened up a firm with a few partners from Philadelphia, who had all been at the Public Defender’s office with me.  We had a firm from 2002-2006, with my office in Atlantic City being the satellite office.  Then, in 2006, I opened up my present firm – Law Offices of Joseph A Levin.  My wife, Kirsten, works part-time.  She does an unbelievably excellent job as an attorney and an even better job raising our three children, which obviously is much more important.  Melissa Rosenblum-Pisetzner, who also is an excellent attorney and good friend, joined the firm in 2009.  Jenaya Brown, our outstanding paralegal, has been with the firm since 2006.  Ed Armstrong, my crack investigator, has been with the firm since 2002.  We really have a family environment, which pleases me.  We will see if the firm remains this way going forward, as there may be some movement in the works, but we will see.

"SPOILER ALERT! Will the Law Offices of Joseph A. Levin, LLC be changing in the future?

"Joe suggests watching the movie Sliding Doors (1998) for those who haven't seen it!

"Joe has been to over 100 Grateful Dead shows ... so far

"Joe's Music Recommendation: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Song: Nothing But the Water