My Story
From College Point to Long Island
I was born in College Point, Queens, and my family moved to Long Island in 1970, when I was young. Long Island has been home ever since. I graduated in 1984 from Holy Family High School in South Huntington, in what turned out to be the school’s final graduating class before its campus became today’s St. Anthony’s. I was a three-year varsity athlete there, the starting quarterback in football for three seasons and an all-Catholic-league center fielder in baseball.
I spent a year at SUNY Albany and then transferred to Hofstra University, where I finished my undergraduate degree, earning a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1990 and starting for two years at Hofstra, where the team earned a national ranking in NCAA Division III and reached the Division III national playoffs in both of my seasons. I stayed at Hofstra for law school.
My Father’s Dream
No one in my family was a lawyer, but my father was certain it was the right path for me. He used to say I should become an attorney, and he dreamed that my brothers and I would one day practice together. He didn’t live to see it. He died young, at 54, while I was still in law school, before my graduation, before my brothers Steven and Christopher went to law school, and before the three of us built Palermo Law together.
He would have been proud of what we made. I started the firm in August 1994 as a solo practitioner, renting space from a more established attorney, about as humble a beginning as there is. From that, over thirty years, we’ve grown into a six-lawyer firm with a staff of ten. I built the practice around criminal law. When Steven joined in 1997, he took over personal injury, and when Christopher joined two years later, he took over family law. My father’s dream of his sons practicing together is, in the end, exactly what happened.
Why Criminal Law
I was drawn to criminal law because I loved trial work. It surprised me. I never enjoyed public speaking before law school, but my favorite course was trial techniques, and the more I learned about evidence and how trials actually work, the more I loved being in a courtroom. That’s never left me.
From roughly 1997 through 2015, I handled a demanding indicted-felony calendar in the Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, the courthouse where the county’s most serious cases are tried. For much of that time my firm included another partner, a lifelong friend since gone on to his own practice; he handled the misdemeanors and unindicted felonies, and I took the indicted felony cases in Riverhead. I was in that courthouse essentially every day.
I didn’t limit myself to Suffolk. During those years I handled felony matters in Mineola, in Manhattan, and in the federal courts, and I served for three years on the Criminal Justice Act panel of defense attorneys in the Eastern District of New York. I also tried a high-profile, three-month retained case in the Eastern District representing the head trader of a foreign-exchange firm. I became known as a trial attorney who took on complex, high-stakes cases, and I won my share of them in jurisdictions with very high conviction rates.
The Practice I Have Today
Around 2015, I turned my practice toward where it is now, concentrating on DWI defense alongside the criminal cases I’ve always handled. It was something I’d always had an interest in, and I’ll be honest about why I made the shift. I look back on the felony trial years with real pride, but living day to day with cases carrying enormous prison exposure, and trying them constantly, is taxing work. I’m still willing to try any case I believe in, that instinct never leaves a trial lawyer, but I’m genuinely happy with the practice I’ve built.
Much of what I do now is DWI defense, where my experience with evidence and the science of chemical testing, and my knowledge of how differently the Nassau and Suffolk courts operate, all come together. I also take the criminal cases where good, hardworking people find themselves caught up in something frightening, a shoplifting charge, a bar-night arrest, a domestic dispute, an honest mistake. Helping those clients through what is often the scariest moment of their lives, and protecting their record and their future, is some of the most rewarding work I do.
Three decades, one focus.
What You Get When You Hire Me
When you hire me, you get me. I personally handle every criminal and DWI case from the first phone call to the final disposition. You won’t be handed to a junior associate, and you won’t meet your lawyer for the first time on the courthouse steps. The other attorneys at Palermo Law practice entirely different areas of law and don’t handle criminal matters, so your case is mine.
I answer my own phone. My cell number, (631) 903-3733, is on every page of this site on purpose: when you’re in trouble, you should be able to reach the person who is actually going to defend you. Behind me is an experienced support staff who keep every filing, deadline, and court date organized so nothing slips while I’m in court, but the legal work, the strategy, the negotiation, the courtroom, is mine.
Credentials
Education
- B.A. in History, Hofstra University, 1990
- J.D., Hofstra University School of Law, 1994
Bar Admissions
- New York State
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Memberships
- New York State Bar Association
- Suffolk County Bar Association
- Nassau County Bar Association
- National College of DUI Defense
- Former member, Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel, E.D.N.Y.
Recognition
- 7× Best Lawyer on Long Island (2019–2024, 2026)
- New York Law Journal Trailblazer Award
- “Superb” Avvo rating for over a decade
- Featured on News 12 Long Island
- National Trial Lawyers: Top 100
Client Reviews
Testimonials
“Ed is a great lawyer!”
Ed is a great lawyer! Very intelligent and with his 30+ years experience really gives him upper hand on trials and other criminal cases. Highly recommend him.
“...Thanks to his services, I am living a much better life...”
Edward was nothing but a true professional when helping me with my situation. Thanks to his services, I am living a much better life. Thank you.
“...I can finally move on with my life and serve my country”
I recently joined the military but made a mistake before I enlisted that could have seriously affected my life which I was charged for. Mr Palermo got my case dismissed. I’m so glad I can finally move on with my life and serve my country
“...when I tell you he got my case dismissed i mean DISMISSED...”
I had a DWI case in Nassau and when I tell you he got my case dismissed i mean DISMISSED and DWI wasn’t the only charge
“If you’re facing a DWI...do yourself a favor and call Ed”
Ed Palermo is an incredible attorney! Even after my DWI case was resolved very favorably, I still had the interlock device in my car. Ed took care of that as well writing a motion for early termination after 6 months maintaining the device. If you’re facing a DWI case please do yourself a favor and call Ed Palermo. Best decision I could have made!
Beyond the Courtroom
Giving back, staying grounded.
I’ve been fortunate, and I try to give back. My firm supports EAC Network’s holiday charities, and I’m personally a longtime supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Away from the office, I’m an avid golfer and stay active. I’m married and the father of three daughters, and I live here in Suffolk County, in the community I’ve spent my career defending.