About Gregory J.
Gregory J. Watford took a nontraditional path into law. He earned a B.S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1985 and returned to study law at Hofstra University School of Law, where he received his J.D. in 1993. Those academic choices reflect an early interest in criminal justice and public service, interests that followed him into practice.
He began his professional life in investigative work. In 1985 he worked as a confidential investigator for the New York City Inspector General’s Office covering HPD matters. Two years later he served as a detective investigator in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Those roles gave him front-line exposure to criminal fact gathering and courtroom preparation. They also informed his later work as a prosecutor and defense lawyer.
After law school, Watford moved into prosecutorial work as an assistant district lawyer in the New York County District Lawyer’s Office in 1993. He spent the 1990s in litigation associate roles at several firms, including Dienst & Serrins and Koehler & Isaacs, and held summer associate posts at Chadbourne & Parke and Proskauer Rose. In 2001 he opened his own practice, The Law Offices of Gregory J. Watford, and in 2003 he served as an administrative law judge for the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission. That same year he took on of counsel work for Jane N. Barrett and Associates. He returned to Koehler & Isaacs as a senior litigation associate in 2013 and later became managing partner at Watford Jackson, PLLC in 2018.
In 2020 he founded The Law Office of Gregory J. Watford, Esq. PLLC. Over more than three decades he has appeared in state court and in federal court. He is admitted to practice in New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. His professional affiliations include the New York State Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the New York Criminal Bar Association.
Colleagues describe Watford as a lawyer who combines investigative experience with courtroom time. He has handled criminal prosecutions and defenses, civil litigation, and administrative hearings. He draws on years of trial preparation, motion practice, and client counseling in both state and federal matters. He maintains a small firm in New York where he represents individuals and businesses in criminal and civil matters. His current practice focuses on criminal defense, civil litigation, and administrative hearings.
