Jim began his legal career as a law clerk for the Hon. G. Thomas Eisele of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas before joining the U.S. Department of Justice under its Honors Program as a Trial Attorney in the Environmental Crimes Section in Washington, D.C. He later served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he was deputy chief of the Long Island Criminal Division and acting chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in Brooklyn. During his tenure, he received the Department of Justice’s prestigious Director’s Award twice and many commendations for his work on major cases involving securities fraud, racketeering, international narcotics trafficking, and official corruption. Jim has tried over 40 federal criminal cases as well as briefed and argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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Jim also served as special counsel and deputy general counsel at the Long Island Power Authority, one of the largest public utilities in the country. Prior to forming LaPinta Lesko & Miskiewicz, he was a shareholder at a global AmLaw 100 law firm in its white collar defense and government investigations, environmental law, and energy practice groups.

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A Brooklyn native and son of immigrants, Jim has taught as an adjunct professor of law at Touro University—Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center; spoken at the American Public Power Association’s annual law and regulatory conference; and served between 2021-22 as a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Committee. Jim is an active supporter of his alma mater, Brooklyn Technical High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the City College of New York and earned his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law.