Donna Aldea

Ms. Aldea, who heads the firm’s appellate and post-conviction litigation group, earned her law degree from St. John’s University in 1998. Before joining Barket Epstein, she was an appellate attorney at the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, where she served for 15 years, ultimately holding the position of Counsel for Special Litigation, responsible for handling the office’s toughest cases. Ms. Aldea brings extensive experience to the firm, having litigated complex issues in the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the federal District Courts, the New York State Court of Appeals, and the New York State Appellate Divisions. Her work has helped shape the landscape of New York and federal law on issues including the right to counsel, the constitutionality of the state’s death penalty statute, and the parameters of post-conviction review of federal habeas corpus proceedings. Ms. Aldea served as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law teaching Criminal Practice and Appellate Advocacy, and is a highly acclaimed and much sought after speaker at continuing legal education seminars statewide. She has been voted a New York Metro Area Super Lawyer every year since 2015.