Blanche, Necheles are Trump's super-lawyers on hush money case

By: Josh Meyer
USA Today

..... they aren't household names yet, unlike their famous client, Donald Trump. But the layers trying to keep the former president out of prison in his New York hush money trial - Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles - likely will become minor celebrities as the court battle gets going this week. [04/12/2024]
..... One year ago, [2023] when a grim-faced Trump made history as the first former president to face criminal charges, Blanche and Necheles sat by his side as he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records associated with hush money payments to two women.
..... Blanche, who usually does talking in court on the hush money case, told reporters that Trump was determined to fight the charges. "He's frustrated, he's upset,' he said. "It's not going to stop him."
..... Both are already considered stars in the criminal legal defense world. But the current trial, Trump's first of four criminal cases on the docket, gives them an exponentially bigger state.
..... Blanche is widely regarded as Trump's primary defense lawyer across his various cases, including the one brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
..... He first made a name for himself as a federal prosecutor for nine years in the Southern district of New York, where Trump is being tired by Bragg. In 2017, Blanche joined Cadwalader, Wichersham's & Tafe LLP, one of New York's oldest and most prestigious law firms, as a partner and prominent white-collar defense lawyer.
..... There, Blanche, now 49, built a reputation as a dogged advocate for his clients - and for his defense of some Trump associates, including current adviser Boris Epshteyn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
..... Blanche left that job about a year ago to work full-time for Trump, setting up his own law firm and reportedly moving to Palm Beach County to buy a house near Trump;s Mar-a-Lago estate.
..... Trump is known for cycling through lawyers quickly, but Blanche has represented the former president on various cases in recent years, including his criminal indictments in Florida for allegedly retaining classified documents and in Washington for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
..... After graduating from Yale Law School in 1983, Necheles (pronounced NECK-lace) worked as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn and served as president of the New York Council of Defense lawyers and of the New York Women's Criminal Defense Lawyer's Group.
..... She has become known for "convincing prosecutors not to bring charges in some cases and obtaining dismissals in others," according to her bio at her law firm. "When a case must be tried, Susan is an accomplished trial lawyer, having third dozens of case to verdict in federal and state court."
..... Necheles has been listed in New York Super Lawyers as one of the lading white-collar criminal defense lawyers in New York since 2006. She was also a counsel to the Genovese crime family under-boss known as Benny Eggs, according to The New York times. In 2022, she represented the Trump Corporation during a criminal tax fraud trial.
..... The legal rating and headhunting firm Chambers and Partners lists Necheles as being on the top band of white-collar crime and government investigations litigators. She specializes in the defense of high-profile clients "facing regulatory investigations and complex criminal proceedings," Chambers says.

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