Michael Deal

Mr. Deal has been a practicing attorney with a focus on criminal law for 30 years. He is currently the Legal Director of the Criminal Defense Unit of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, after having initially served as a managing attorney in the Appeals and Post-Conviction Unit when he first joined Legal Aid in 2017. He was previously a sole practitioner in Buffalo for several years after leaving Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria where he had been a long-time member in that firm’s criminal department representing clients throughout western New York and the country. Prior to moving to Western New York, he was an assistant city prosecutor in the Lima Ohio Municipal Court before advancing to the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, first in the juvenile office and then handling adult felony matters. He also served as a Mayor’s Court Magistrate in the Village of Fort Shawnee, Ohio. Mr. Deal has tried cases ranging from speeding tickets to double homicide, in state and federal courts. He has perfected and argued appeals in county courts, the Appellate Division Fourth Department, the Court of Appeals, and, federally, in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of various criminal defense organizations and has presented at several CLEs. In 2019, he was a Criminal Justice Act Award recipient presented by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.