Education
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
State University of New York at Oswego
Admissions
State Bar of New York
U.S. District Courts:
Southern District of New York
Eastern District of New York
Appellate Courts:
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Supreme Court
Biography
Isabelle A. Kirshner is one of New York’s premier criminal defense attorneys with forty years of experience defending individuals and entities across a wide range of criminal matters. She has represented clients at every stage of criminal proceedings, from the inception of an investigation through indictment and trial. She has successfully represented a number of individuals in high-profile matters, including the former Attorney General of the State of New York and members of Congress, and is known for her civil practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving sexual assault, sexual harassment and related claims.
With work that spans investigations and prosecutions, Isabelle’s cases involve allegations of sexual misconduct as well as securities fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, tax fraud and the distribution of crystal methamphetamine and opioids. This includes one of the largest criminal tax-shelter cases ever brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. Isabelle’s trial successes include an acquittal of murder and racketeering charges in a multi-defendant case in federal court, an acquittal of all charges in a conspiracy case in which she successfully asserted an entrapment defense on behalf of her client and an acquittal of all charges in a federal Hobbs Act and conspiracy case.
Earlier in her career, Isabelle was an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office from 1982 to 1986. She then entered private practice as a criminal defense attorney and joined Clayman & Rosenberg in 2005.
Isabelle sits on the Peer Review Committee for the Criminal Justice Act and the Criminal Justice Advocacy Board for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She served as a member of District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s transition committee and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
In 2020, Isabelle received the Norman S. Ostrow Award from the New York Council of Defense Lawyers. In 2019, Isabelle was the recipient of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Thurgood Marshall Practitioner of the Year Award and was honored with the Gideon’s Promise Equalizer Award in 2018.
Representative Matters
Representative Matters
- Represented a doctor accused of abusing patients, which resulted in a non-jail disposition.
- Successful representation of a business owner accused of bank fraud involving the theft of over $300 million.
- Represented at trial a partner of one of the country’s Big Four accounting companies in a tax shelter case. Charges against the client were ultimately dismissed.
- Representation of a doctor accused of unlawful distribution of opioids.
- Persuaded the Special Prosecutor to decline to bring criminal charges against the former attorney general of the State of New York.
- Represented a client in a large securities fraud case, which resulted in a sentence that was almost half that of her co-defendant.
- Successfully represented an individual in a high-profile case in which charges resulted from an assault on an NYPD officer.
- Represented a number of individuals in different matters charged with the distribution of narcotics and crystal methamphetamine.
- Represented an individual indicted for bribing a high-level U.N. official. The client received a sentence well below the guidelines and was permitted to leave the country immediately after her release from custody.
- Achieved an acquittal of a client accused of a Hobbs Act murder in a major narcotics conspiracy in Federal Court.
- Represented an individual accused of misappropriating confidential banking information. No criminal charges were brought.
- Persuaded the Department of Justice not to charge a sitting member of Congress with crimes related to sexual misconduct.
- Achieved the acquittal of a client accused of facilitating official misconduct.
- Represented a number of individuals, in both civil and criminal matters, accused of a wide range of sexual misconduct.
Highlights
- Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (an organization comprised of the nation’s elite trial lawyers) and served as Chairperson of its Downstate Committee for two years.
- Achieved a Band 1 Ranking in the 2026 Chambers USA – White Collar & Government Investigations Guide.
- Recognized in the Forbes 2026 America’s Top Women Lawyers list.
- Finalist for the 2026 Law.com New York Legal Awards in the Best Mentors category.
- Selected to Super Lawyers every year since 2008; ranked in the Top 50: Women New York —Metro Super Lawyers (2022–2026); and ranked in the Top 100: New York — Metro Super Lawyers (2023–2026).
- Awarded the 2019 New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Thurgood Marshall Practitioner of the Year Award.
- Recipient of the 2018 Gideon’s Promise Equalizer Award.