Law Firm Overview

Experienced Federal Prosecutor, former Associate at national law firm, and former FBI Special Agent and forensic laboratory technician with more than 15 years of legal, forensic, and law-related experience. Represented the United States, individuals, and corporate clients in civil suits, criminal matters, and large-scale multi-jurisdictional prosecutions.

Skill Highlights:

• Prosecuted and oversaw federal investigations. Prepared matters for complaint, indictment, trial, settlement or sentencing, and appeal.
• Strong leadership abilities: directed, managed, and coordinated law enforcement, paralegals, and investigative team, victim advocates, forensic experts, domestic and international government agencies, external resources including civil, corporate counsel, private investigators, and trade associations.
• Collected, evaluated, accessed, and preserved physical, testimonial, financial, and documentary evidence; in-depth knowledge of government forensic expert reports; conducted scientific and procedural review/analysis for Daubert and pre-trial hearings; resolve chain of custody and discovery issues.
• Excellent presentation, negotiation, verbal and written communication skills. Ability to converse on various aspects of investigations/operations utilizing advocacy and influencing talents; high-level of organization.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Represented individual and corporate clients in civil suits and criminal proceedings. Conducted large-scale discovery productions and depositions in federal and state courts.
• Developed the most effective investigative and trial strategies by coordinating with DOJ entities, federal agencies, state and local prosecutors, victims, corporate and defense counsel, trade associations, and law enforcement.
• Drafted and argued two appellate briefs before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Author and lecturer for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Journal of Forensic Science.

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, Florida – May 1990
• Spanish Student at UNM Continuing Education. Beginner level of proficiency.
• Former French Student at the Alliance Française de Washington, DC and Albuquerque, NM. Intermediate level of proficiency.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Law Office of Amy Sirignano, PC and Forensic Consulting, Albuquerque, NM
2008 – present

Founding Partner

• Solo law firm concentrating in complex white-collar crime, racketeering, federal and state criminal defense; business law; brand protection and intellectual property enforcement; civil rights/excessive force, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases.
• Created forensic consulting business to launch a National Criminal Defense Forensic Institute and database with other forensic experts to evaluate government experts' theories at Daubert and pretrial hearings.
• Developing a CLE training program for NM attorneys, "Evaluating CSI Forensics and Sources of Error."
• Collaborating with attorneys state-wide to draft a NM Practice Manual.

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

Trial Attorney

• Indicted sixteen gang leaders and members for racketeering, drug trafficking, and firearms violations in the Eastern District of Michigan. Forfeited gang assets.
• Directed investigations by federal law enforcement agents 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, Albuquerque, NM
2002 – 2006

Assistant United States Attorney

• Tried seven federal criminal cases; represented the United States in numerous cases, motions, evidentiary and sentencing hearings.
• Investigated and prosecuted firearms, narcotics, domestic terrorism, white-collar (identity fraud and mail theft, federal tax, money laundering, mail, wire and bank fraud), and intellectual property related crimes, among others.
• 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 and environmental defense 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 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; New York Division, New York, NY 1994 –2000

• Acting supervisor and case agent for FBI, multi-agency and international investigations involving white-collar crime (counterfeiting and piracy, health care, and other types of fraud), general criminal matters (bank robbery, firearms violations, kidnapping, crimes on the 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 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. Instructed law enforcement in crime scene management and evidence collection.

BAR MEMBERSHIPS & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• State of California, admitted February 3, 2000; District of Columbia, admitted April 3, 2006; State of New Mexico, admitted April 21, 2008.
• United States Courts: Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern California District Courts; District of New Mexico, Eastern District of Michigan. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• American Inns of Court; American Bar Association; DC Bar Association; American Society of International Law; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; New Mexico Christian Legal Aid; Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI; American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training: completed the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Half-Marathon in June, 2006; the Dublin, Ireland marathon, October, 2007.

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

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 Cases

• Unabomb Investigation: United States v. Theodore Kaczynski
• Terrstop Investigation: United States v. Ramzi Yousef
• 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