Martin G. Weinberg

Nationally One of the Best Criminal & White Collar Defense Lawyers Based in Boston, Massachusetts

Martin G. Weinberg is a nationally prominent criminal defense lawyer, considered by many within the legal community to rank among the nation’s best criminal and white-collar defense lawyers, and best litigators and appellate advocates.

A 1971 Harvard Law School graduate, he has been recognized repeatedly for his accomplishments as a trial and appellate attorney, educator, and leader within the legal profession. As a chief trial and appellate counsel in hundreds of cases for more than four decades, Weinberg has been the lawyer of choice for industry leaders, including other prominent trial attorneys charged with crimes or misconduct, corporate executives, medical professionals, and internet pioneers. Weinberg has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers for 37 consecutive years starting in 1987, including the 2024 edition. He was honored as one of the Top 10 Lawyers in Massachusetts in 2011 and has been selected as a SuperLawyers for 20 straight years between 2004 through 2024.

Weinberg has earned the 2024 Martindale-Hubbell®AV Preeminent™ Judicial Award, the highest rating in both legal ability and ethical standards, based on evaluations by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. Martin G. Weinberg was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2022, an honor conferred on one attorney a year for preeminence as a criminal defense attorney.

Weinberg has represented accused defendants in over 20 federal district courts, 8 U.S. Courts of Appeal, and in the U.S. Supreme Court, where he successfully argued the landmark Fourth Amendment case of United States v. Chadwick.

In 2010, he successfully challenged the Department of Justice’s reliance on the Stored Communications Act to seize the content of emails in violation of the Fourth Amendment in United States v Warshak.

Weinberg has led defense teams that achieved trial acquittals and pretrial dismissals for business executives, Lawyers, and many other professionals charged in high-profile political corruption, money laundering, and health and financial fraud cases.

The former director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Weinberg regularly works closely with the nation’s premier trial and appellate counsel as both a consultant and a member of case-specific litigation teams and joint defenses involving companies and their executives.

Recognized for his trustworthy, caring, and one-on-one approach, Weinberg’s guidance and counsel is designed to maximize his clients’ chance of acquittal.

Practice Areas

• Bank Fraud
• Gambling Crimes
• Healthcare Fraud
• Insider Trading
• Internet & Computer Crimes
• Money Laundering
• Political Corruption
• RICO Cases
• Securities Fraud
• Tax Evasion

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Massachusetts, 1972
United States District Court
District of Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
United States Supreme Court
United States Tax Court

Experience in the Courts

Argued United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S. Ct. 2476 before United States Supreme Court, April 26, 1977

Argued federal criminal appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

Admitted pro hac vice for federal criminal cases in the following district courts:

• California (Northern District)
• Delaware
• Florida (Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts)
• Georgia (Middle District, Southern District)
• Illinois (Northern District),
• Louisiana (Western District)
• Maine
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York (Southern, Eastern, and NorthernDistricts)
• North Carolina (Eastern District)
• Ohio (Southern District)
• Oregon
• Puerto Rico
• Vermont

Admitted pro hac vice for federal criminal cases in the following state courts:

• Florida
• Ohio

Expert, Panelist, & Guest Lecturer

Expert Witness: Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul MorinToronto, Ontario (November 18, 1997)Inquiry on Prison Informants and Risks of Convicting Innocent Persons

Guest Lecturer: Meredith Law Lectures;McGill University Faculty of Law – Montreal, CanadaTopic: “The Applicability of Money Laundering Legislation and Other EnforcementProcedures to the Criminal Defense Attorney,” October 5, 2002

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersTopic: “Trial Techniques & Strategies From the Masters.” (May, 2003)

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Spring Conference -“Trial Techniques & Strategies from the Masters.” New York, New YorkTopic: “Criminal Law for Criminal Lawyers: A Perspective from a co-chair of theNACDL Lawyer’s Assistance Strike Force.” April, 2003

Panelist: Federal CJA Training SeminarTopic: “Trying a Federal Criminal Case.” December 5, 2002

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersTopic: “White Collar Defense.” February 20, 2002

Guest Lecturer: ABA White Collar Crime Section Committee MeetingTopic: “Federal Grand Jury Bill of Rights.” January 25, 2001

Guest Lecturer: Second Federal Practice Institute(sponsored by Federal Defender Office, Concord, New Hampshire)Topic: “Counseling and Confronting the Cooperating Witness.”September 28, 2000

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersTopic: “Money Laundering, Fees and the Criminal Defense Attorney.”August 4, 2000

Panelist: CJA Training Seminar, District of Rhode IslandTopic: “How To Avoid Being Accused of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in theCurrent Legal Climate.” June 19, 2000

Guest Lecturer: Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers AssociationTopic: “Jury Selection.” April 14, 2000

Attended First Circuit Judicial Conference in Newport, RI (1989), Waterville Valley, NH (1991), Boston, MA. 1993, 2003

Invited Lecturer: First Circuit Judicial Conference in Bethel, ME. 1999

Member on Panel of Attorneys Receiving Criminal Justice Act Appointments in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Committee for Public Counsel, Court Appointment List for murder cases

Guest Lecturer: CJA Panel Training, District of New HampshireSuccessfully Defending Drug Prosecutions,Topic: “Winning Against Odds: Mock Trials, Voir Dire and Life After Salemme.” June 4, 1999

Guest Lecturer: Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.Topic: “Cross-Examination of Witnesses.” May 20, 1999

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense LawyersTopic: “Lessons from Ten Months of Litigating Racketeering Cases:Roving Bugs, Protected Informants & the Ethics of the Witness Reward System.”April 30, 1999

Panelist: Tufts University, EPIIC International Symposium,Topic: “Global Crime, Corruption and Accountability.” March 5, 1999

Guest Lecturer: Tufts University, Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship. February 4, 1999

Guest Lecturer: Committee for Public Counsel Services, Annual Training ConferenceTopic: “Ethics — The New Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct.” May 15, 1998

Guest Lecturer: Boston Bar Association, Criminal Law Section.Topic: “New Ethics Rules.” February 12, 1998

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.Topic: “Witness Informant Reward System.” October 31, 1997

Guest Lecturer: Criminal Justice Expo & Conference.Topic: “Lawyer’s Duty: Protect the Guilty?” October 1, 1997

Guest Lecturer: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.Topic: “Pretrial Investigation.” May 2, 1997

Leadership

Past Vice Chair, Grand Jury Reform Committee,National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Past Chairman, Money Laundering Task Force,National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Vice Chair, Strategic Litigation Committee,National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 1990-1992

Awards

Super Lawyers®
One of Top Lawyers in State: Weinberg was honored as one of the Top 10 Lawyers in Massachusetts in 2011 and has been selected yearly from 2004-2024 for Massachusetts Super Lawyers, a guide widely used by other lawyers to select counsel.

AV Preeminent® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®
Weinberg has earned the 2024 Martindale-Hubbell®AV Preeminent™ Judicial Award, the highest rating in both legal ability and ethical standards, based on evaluations by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.

Top 10 Attorneys in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Selected by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for 2011.

Best Law Firms for Criminal Defense: White-Collar in Boston, MA
Best Lawyers: selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers – since 1988 yearly – including the 2024 edition.

Guest lecturer at Harvard Law School
Guest lecturer at Harvard Law School on criminal law and ethics issues.

Panelist & Speaker at Four Judicial Conferences
Selected to be a panelist and speaker at four Judicial Conferences of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Selected by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to be a member of its Local Rules Committee, its Criminal Justice Act panel (CJA) and its Committee to Select a Federal Magistrate

Lawyers Assistance Strike Force
National co-chairman for the Lawyers Assistance Strike Force for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for over 20 consecutive years and State co-chairman for the Lawyers Assistance Strike Force for the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Former Board Member for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for 6 years

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Committee
Co-Chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Committee on Money Laundering and the Reform of Federal Grand Juries

Expert Witness on American Law
Expert witness on American law and the perils of informant testimony before a high-level Ontario, Canada Commission investigating the wrongful murder conviction of an innocent man

Meredith Lectures Given at McGill University
Invited speaker at the annual Meredith Lectures given at McGill University, Montreal Canada on the topic of US money-laundering laws.

National CLE Conferences
Frequent invited speaker at national CLE conferences run by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Criminal Justice Act Board, the Massachusetts Committees for Public Counsel and Continuing Legal Education and numerous state bar associations and criminal defense organizations nationwide on topics ranging from white-collar defense issues and strategy to cross-examination, openings, summations, electronic surveillance, and money laundering

Author of Legal Articles
Author of legal articles on the Government’s use of subpoenas to acquire emails from ISPs, on the representation of attorneys responding to searches of their law firm offices, on the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment, and on trial defenses to prosecutions involving internet sex offenses

Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers
Criminal Trial practice, AV rating

Super Lawyers
Inclusion in Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

The Best Lawyers in America
The Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White
 Publisher. 1987-2024 (Criminal Defense)

National Directory of Criminal Lawyers
Inclusion in National Directory of Criminal Lawyers, 
Tarlow, Edward, Gold Publishing

Publications

Search & Seizure Commentary

The Champion, June 2014, NACDL.org Warshak 4 Years Later The DOJ Continues to Fight the Warshak Court Requirement 0f a Warrant (Not a Subpoena) to Search and Seize Emails
2014
Visit Publication

Letters to the Editor

The Boston Globe Congress must act to give courts leeway for sick prisoners. Congress has left federal judges without the statutory power on their own to remedy post-sentence medical problems such as those that occurred to former House speaker Salvatore DiMasi; instead, Congress has placed responsibility for responding to unforeseen but catastrophic medical events, such as DiMasi’s throat cancer, in the hands of the Bureau of Prisons.
2013
Visit Publication

Bringing the Fourth Amendment into the 21st Century

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, www.masslawyersweekly.com “Like a sealed or resealed first-class letter, or a document stored in a closed filing cabinet, an email stored on an ISP’s server is a closed container in which an individual has a strong, reasonable expectation of privacy, as the Sixth Circuit concluded in Warshak. Consequently, in accord with more than a century of Supreme Court jurisprudence, emails stored withinan ISP server are entitled to all of the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment’
2012
Visit Publication

Trial by Press Conference

“Before prosecutors present a single witness in a federal or state courtroom, the community has formed a belief in the guilt or innocence … A cornerstone of our system of constitutional liberties is the presumption of innocence. Yet recent but widespread nationwide practices in federal and state cases — announcing indictments via press conferences … profoundly threaten the charged citizen’s right to a fair trial …”
2012
Visit Publication

Sixth Circuit: SCA Unconstitutional to Extent It Permits Warrant

2011
Visit Publication

The Stored Communications Act and Private E-mail Communications

2007
Visit Publication

Internet Sexual Entrapment; The uses and misuses of 18 U.S.C. §2

2002
Visit Publication

Federal Grand Jury Reform Report & ‘Bill of Rights’

Prepared by Commission on which Weinberg served.
2000

The Witness Reward System

“The defense attorney … must become a teacher, educating jurors about this imbalanced, unfair system.”
1998

Challenging the Law Office Search

1996

United States v. Chadwick: Revitalization of the Warrant Clause?

1977

Cross-Examination of Chemists in Narcotics and Marijuana Cases

1972

Accomplishments

Weinberg’s Expertise Encompasses a Broad Spectrum of Complex Legal issues.

• 2019 – Reversal of federal conviction in Puerto Rico of a business executive for bribery with the Court of Appeals ordering the entry of a judgment of acquittal, US v Bravo-Fernandez
• Principal lawyer in successful, ground-breaking challenge to the Department of Justice’s 20-year history of seizing the content of emails through secret subpoenas to Internet Service Providers in circumvention of the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment, United States v Warshak
• 2016 Court of Appeals reversal of federal RICO conviction of state probation heads, United States v Tavares
• Trial acquittals in recent political corruption case where the adviser for the Massachusetts Speaker of the House was charged and found not guilty by a jury in the DiMasi-Vitale trial
• Trial acquittals in recent federal white collar racketeering conspiracy, tax evasion conspiracy, and money laundering trials for business executives and practicing attorneys
• Successfully argued landmark Fourth Amendment case, United States v Chadwick, in United States Supreme Court
• 2013 Court of Appeals reversal of federal public corruption conviction in Puerto Rico based on proof of gratuities but not bribery, United States v Bravo
• Recent dismissal of 73 count indictment charging public corruption in State of Ohio
• Successful defenses of doctors, trial lawyers, hospital executives, CEOs of companies, and alleged organized crime leaders in a myriad of challenging cases over the past 40 years in eight federal courts of appeals and over 20 federal district courts from California and Florida to New England and New York
• Appellate reversals in recent federal honest services case involving a hospital CEO accused of bribing a state politician and a business executive charged with money laundering
• Representation of over 100 attorneys in matters including disqualification challenges, motions to quash grand jury subpoenas, contempt proceedings, and federal criminal prosecution for money laundering and obstruction of justice
• Member of the Merit Selection Panel of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts regarding the appointment of a United States Magistrate Judge (1999-2000)

Weinberg Quoted as an Expert

• Kris Olson | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly | August 5, 2023
• By Travis Andersen | Globe Staff | July 12, 2023
• Shelley Murphy and Travis Andersen | Boston Globe Staff | May 30, 2019
• By Travis Andersen | Boston Globe Staff | October 31, 2017
• Travis Andersen | Boston Globe Staff | October 30, 2017
• Travis Andersen | Boston Globe staff | October 28, 2019
• Kris Olson | Mass Lawyers Weekly | October 24, 2019
• Michael Levenson | Globe Staff | October 23, 2019
• Maria Cramer| Globe Staff | July 30, 2019
• Eric T. Berkman | Mass Lawyers Weekly | June 20, 2019
• Maria Cramer| Globe Staff | June 7, 2019
• Andrea Estes, Shelley Murphy and Maria Cramer | Globe Staff | May 23, 2019
• Danny McDonald | Globe Staff | April 26, 2019
• Maria Cramer| Globe Staff | March 30, 2018
• Martin Finucane | Globe Staff | March 30, 2018
• Scot Lehigh | Globe Staff | March 22, 2018
• Maria Cramer | Globe Staff | March 21, 2018
• Maria Cramer | Globe Staff | March 1, 2018
• By Maria Cramer | Globe Staff | February 7, 2018
• Yvonne Abraham | Globe Staff | December 14, 2017
• Kris Olson | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly | May 25, 2017
• Maria Cramer | Boston Globe Staff | October 31, 2017
• Danny McDonald, Felice J. Freyer and Bob Hohler | GLOBE STAFF | September 21, 2017
• Nestor Ramos | Globe Staff | June 08, 2017