Law Office of Amy Sirignano, P.C.

Law Firm Overview

Experienced criminal defense attorney and litigator, former federal prosecutor, former Associate at national law firm, and former FBI Special Agent and forensic laboratory technician with more than 17 years of legal, investigative, forensic and law-related experience.  Represented the United States, individual and corporate clients in civil suits, complex criminal matters, and in large, multi-jurisdictional cases.

Law Office of Amy Sirignano, PC, Albuquerque, NM & San Francisco, CA            

2008 – present

Founding Partner and President

• Established and manage solo law firm with six employees (paralegal, associate, law clerks, investigator & bookkeeper).
• Concentrate in federal and state criminal defense, specializing in complex white-collar crime, corruption, fraud and financial crimes, money laundering, Ponzi schemes, National Security investigations, racketeering, narcotics and federal wiretapping, civil and criminal forfeitures, SEC investigations, brand protection and intellectual property enforcement cases, as well as violent crimes including, firearms, assault, rape, murder, and general criminal matters.  Draft and argue appeals before federal Courts of Appeals.
• Consultant and specialist for fraud investigation, prevention, reporting and compliance; detection of money laundering and promotion of anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures.
• Represent individual plaintiffs in all stages of civil litigation, administrative hearings, and mediations.
• Board Member for NM Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association. Drafted amendments to proposed NM legislation involving criminal law.
• Interim Top Secret Clearance granted by U.S. Department of Justice, January, 2011 to defend National Security matter.

U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Washington, DC                          2006 – 2008

Trial Attorney

• Indicted sixteen gang leaders and members in the Eastern District of Michigan for racketeering, drug trafficking, firearms violations. Criminally and administratively forfeited gang assets. 
• Directed investigations and developed the most effective investigative and trial strategies.  Coordinated law enforcement agents, paralegals, DOJ entities, state and local prosecutors, and experts with the Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center (GangTECC) and intelligence analysts from the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC).
• Established and maintained litigation management and separate gang intelligence databases.

U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office (“USAO”), Albuquerque, NM

2002 – 2006

Assistant United States Attorney

• Represented the United States and tried numerous criminal cases, prepared matters for complaint, indictment, pre-trial motions/hearings, trial, settlement/sentencing, and appeal. 
• Investigated and prosecuted domestic and international terrorism, white-collar (federal tax, money laundering, structuring, mail, wire and bank fraud, identity fraud, mail theft, theft of government property), and intellectual property related crimes, firearms and narcotics cases, among others.
• Collected, evaluated, assessed and preserved physical, testimonial, financial and documentary evidence. Managed federal and local investigations and case submissions to the USAO’s White Collar Crime/Fraud Section from various agencies including: Bank/Financial Institutions (Fraud Units), and various federal and state law enforcement agencies including the FBI, IRS, and U.S. Secret Service.  Cases reviewed for prosecution included investigations generated by Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”), Currency Transaction Reports (“CTRs”), review of bank and federal tax records, FinCEN reports, and source reporting.  Familiarity and compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.
• Drafted and argued two appellate briefs before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Established the District of NM Scientific Advisory Group – affiliated experts from the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories for disasters; drafted the District’s Critical Incident Response Plan.

Smith, Ellison & Harraka, Irvine, CA                                          

2001 –2002

Associate

• Counseled clients and decision-makers.  Conducted case management for individual plaintiffs and insurance company defendants in civil suits involving general business litigation, insurance coverage, construction/environmental lawsuits.
• Drafted complaints, conducted depositions, drafted motions, pleadings, discovery requests and responses.

McDermott, Will, & Emery, Los Angeles, CA                                                        2000 –2001

Associate

• Trial Department, White Collar Crime/Litigation.  Conducted privilege review and prepared large-scale document productions involving corporate records for compliance with numerous criminal tax subpoenas.  Advised University client on discovery for large False Claims Act/Qui Tam case.
• Prepared witnesses for federal grand jury testimony and civil depositions.  Drafted memoranda and pleadings; performed extensive legal research. 

U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Special Agent

Los Angeles Division, Long Beach, CA and New York Division, New York, NY                    1994 –2000

• Acting supervisor and case agent for FBI, multi-agency and international investigations involving white-collar crime (various types of fraud, counterfeiting and piracy, health care), general criminal matters (bank robbery, firearms violations, kidnapping, crimes on the high seas), excessive force/civil rights, domestic and international terrorism, national security and espionage matters pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
• Three letters of commendation from FBI Directors for participation in the international investigation of the bombing of Italian Judge Paolo Borsellino in Rome, Italy; the first bombing of the World Trade Center; and the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.

Evidence/Physical Science Technician, FBI Laboratory, Washington, DC                             1991 –1994

• Conducted scientific investigation, collected and analyzed evidence from crime scenes; prepared forensic reports for expert testimony.  Worked on high profile investigations including: The first bombing of the World Trade Center and Unabomber explosive devices.  Instructed law enforcement in crime scene management and evidence collection in Quantico, VA.

Education

·         Juris Doctor, Rutgers Law School, Newark, NJ – October 1998

·         Master of Forensic Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC – February 1992

·         Bachelor of Music Merchandising and Industry, minor in Business, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL – May 1990

·         Former French student at the Alliance Française d’Albuquerque, NM.  Intermediate level of proficiency.

·         Former Spanish student at UNM Continuing Education.  Beginner level of proficiency.

Certifications

·         Associate Member, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. CFE – Certified Fraud Examiner certification application in progress

·         Member, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Associates.  CAMS - Certified Anti-money Laundering Specialist Certification application in progress.

·         New Mexico Certified Private Investigator, application in progress.

·         New Mexico Concealed Carry Permit license.

Bar memberships

·         State of California, admitted February 3, 2000; District of Columbia, admitted April 3, 2006; State of New Mexico, admitted April 21, 2008; State of Hawaii admitted Pro Hac Vice June 12, 2009.

·         United States Courts:  Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern California District Courts; District of New Mexico, Eastern District of Michigan, District of Arizona & Nevada admitted Pro Hac Vice.  Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and United States Supreme Court, pending applications.

Professional Affiliations

·         Author and lecturer for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Journal of Forensic Sciences; University of New Mexico School of Law Externship Class and Innocence Project Seminar, Fall, 2011.

·         New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Board of Directors.

·         New Mexico Women’s Bar Association, Board of Directors.

·         American Inns of Court, Barrister and Group Leader.

·         National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; DC & CA Bar Associations; American Society of International Law; American Bar Association and Section of International Law; International Bar Association; New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association; New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association; California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI; American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Jurisprudence Section.

Trainings Attended

·         U.S. Department of Justice, National Advocacy Center (NAC) – Evidence for Criminal Litigators, 2003; Criminal Trial Advocacy Seminar, 2003; Computer Forensics Seminar, 2003; Basic Money Laundering Seminar, 2003; Internet Fraud Seminar, 2004; Criminal Tax Seminar, 2005; Criminal and Civil Forfeiture Seminar, 2005.

·         Member of ABA Section of International Law Hague Delegation, October, 2005.  Conferred with members of the International Bar, the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Iran-U.S. Claims Court and others; attended the ABA 2005 Fall Meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

·         U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC –Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO), 2006; Title III Wiretap Training, 2006.

·         Participated in the 2007 Hague Joint Conference on Contemporary Issues of International Law. Sponsored by ASIL, the T.M.C. Asser Institute for Private and Public International Law; The Hague, The Netherlands, June 28-30, 2007.

·         American Bar Association Banking Law I and II, Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, May & June, 2010.

·         National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Seminar “Modern Evidence, Modern Defenses,” San Antonio, TX, February, 2011.

·         American Bar Association, 25^th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, San Diego, CA March, 2011.

·         National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s “Making Sense of Forensic Science V,” Las Vegas, NV March, 2011.

·         American Bar Association, Section of Litigation & Criminal Justice Section, Annual Conference, Miami, FL, April, 2011.

·         National Criminal Defense College, 2011 Trial Practice Institute, Macon, Georgia. Graduate June, 2011.

·         American Bar Association, 26^th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Miami Beach, FL, February, 2012.

·         National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, White Collar Criminal Defense College, Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, FL, March, 2012.

Computer Skills

·         Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access); WordPerfect; PACER and CM/ECF filing systems; Westlaw. Case/document management programs: CaseMap, Concordance, Summation, Sanction II.  Office Timekeeping: Timeslips and QuickBooks.

Community Activities & Personal

·         June 2006 San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon with Team in Training; October 2007 Dublin, Ireland marathon; and the October 2008 San Antonio Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon; August 2010 “Hood to Coast” 12-person relay. Anticipated entry: October 23, 2012 Duke City Half-Marathon.

·         Secretary/Treasurer for Condominium Association Board.

Areas of Practice

• White-Collar Crime
• Racketeering
• Federal and State Criminal Defense
• Criminal Law
• DUI/DWI
• Business Law
• Brand Protection and Intellectual Property Enforcement
• Civil Rights/Excessive Force
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death Cases

Honors and Awards

• Board of Directors, New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
• Board of Directors, New Mexico Women's Bar Association

Published Works

• Book Review: Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, (Co-Author, Barry A. J. Fisher), Crime Laboratory Digest, 1994
• Comparison of Fingernail Striation Patterns in Identical Twins, Journal of Forensic Sciences, JFSCA, Vol. 37, No. 6, November, 1992

Classes and Seminars

• Forensic Science and the Rule of Law: The Role of Discovery in Today's Crime Laboratory, Panel Session, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Seattle, Washington, 2006
• Perspectives on the Validity of Personal Identification Methodology in Identical Twins, Presentation, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, San Antonio, TX, 1994
• Comparison of Fingernail Striation Patterns in Identical Twins, Presentation, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Boston, MA, 1993

Pro Bono Activities

• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training: Completed the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Half-Marathon, 2006
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training: Completed the Dublin, Ireland Marathon, 2007

Representative Clients

• United States v. Douglas F. Vaughan; 11-CR-404 BB (D. NM 2012)
• United States v. David Garcia; 10-CR-1727 JB (D. NM 2011), case dismissed.
• United States v. Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni; 10-CR-2626 BB (D. NM 2010)

Representative Cases

• United States v. Awwad
• United States v. Braggs
• United States v. Chiquito
• United States v. Diaz
• United States v. Daprano
• United States v. Frasier, et al.
• United States v. Ho
• United States v. Holt
• United States v. King
• United States v. Leonard
• United States v. Rodriguez-Felix
• United States v. Schmidt
• United States v. Sheets

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Business Organizations, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, DUI/DWI, White Collar Crimes, Intellectual Property Law, Wrongful Death -- Defense, Medical Malpractice