Brandon Minde | Cranford Criminal Defense Lawyer

Mr. Minde is a trial partner with Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski who joined the firm in 2014, bringing with him legal experience in both government and private sectors.
His practice focuses on representing individuals and businesses charged with criminal offenses or undergoing criminal investigations, defending physicians and hospitals charged with medical malpractice, and professional board investigations, and handling complex civil-litigation matters.

Representing a vast array of businesses and individuals in high-stakes civil matters, as well as those investigated and charged with federal and state crimes, Mr. Minde uses the techniques and strategies he learned as a former prosecutor to swiftly resolve his clients’ cases. Mr. Minde is often able get the charges against his clients dropped without the need to move through the litigation process. However, when this is not possible, Mr. Minde works quickly and tirelessly to achieve the most advantageous outcomes possible for those he represents. Though he endeavors to help his clients avoid the expense of going to trial, Mr. Minde is an aggressive courtroom litigator who is relentlessly focused on winning favorable verdicts.

Mr. Minde is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a criminal-trial attorney, a designation less than 3% of New Jersey attorneys obtain. To achieve this certification, an attorney must have taken a large number of cases to trial, be a member of the state bar in good standing for at least five years, engage in regular continuing education, demonstrate substantial involvement in preparation of litigated matters, prove he has an unblemished reputation through a substantial compilation of character references, and pass a comprehensive written exam.

Mr. Minde is an appointed member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel for the District of New Jersey, which is a group of qualified and court-approved attorneys who are eligible for appointment by the federal court to represent individuals in federal criminal cases. Since 2018, Mr. Minde has served as the appointed public defender for Wall Township.

As a former assistant prosecutor in Essex County from 2006 to 2010, Mr. Minde handled many criminal prosecutions and jury trials. While serving in the Corruption Unit, Mr. Minde managed investigations and conducted prosecutions of corruption, fraud, government misconduct, and other white-collar crimes. He received training in economic crimes and financial investigations from the National White-Collar Crime Center and in cyber-crime and computer forensics from the National Computer Forensics Institute.

During his tenure as assistant prosecutor, Mr. Minde was also appointed as a special-deputy attorney general to lead a joint investigation into widespread election fraud through absentee voter ballots. The investigation culminated in several convictions, including some high-level government officials, and at the time was the largest voter fraud case in the history of New Jersey.

Mr. Minde served as assistant counsel to Governor Chris Christie from 2010 to 2013, where he provided advice and counsel to Governor Christie and the Chief Counsel to the Governor on a wide array of legislative, legal, regulatory, and policy initiatives. During this time, Mr. Minde also served as assistant counsel in the Governor’s Authorities Unit, as an executive-branch representative on the NJ Sales and Use Tax Review Commission, and as the governor’s representative on the board of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority. In 2013, Mr. Minde worked as the executive director of the New Jersey Government Records Council, the state agency that adjudicates complaints filed under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) concerning denials of access to government records.

Prior to his time in public service, Mr. Minde worked from 2004 to 2006 as an associate in the securities litigation, government relations, and white-collar defense group of New Jersey’s largest law firm.

In 2016, Mr. Minde was selected for the “Forty Under 40” list developed by NJBIZ, New Jersey’s premier business news publication. Mr. Minde has been named as a “Rising Star” by New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine each year since 2015. The designation, which is given to less than 2.5 percent of New Jersey attorneys, recognizes the best attorneys in the state who are 40 years old or younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less. In 2015, Mr. Minde was one of 50 lawyers to be named a “New Leader of the Bar” by the New Jersey Law Journal publication. The year prior, Mr. Minde was given the NJSBA (New Jersey State Bar Association) Young Lawyers Division Professional Achievement Award.

A sought-after speaker and active member of the legal community, Mr. Minde is a regular lecturer at the Practising Law Institute as well as at various law conventions and seminars. Mr. Minde is also the chair-elect of the NJSBA Criminal Law Section, served as the chair of the NJSBA White-Collar Crime Subcommittee from 2015 to 2018, sat on the board of the NJSBA from 2012 to 2014, chaired the NJSBA Business and Commercial Litigation Committee from 2016 to 2017, and has been a member of the Association of Criminal-Defense Lawyers of New Jersey since 2015. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Partner	Dughi Hewit & Domalewski, P.C.	Cranford, NJ	Present

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
The George Washington University Law School	J.D.	Law School	2004
Muhlenberg College	Bachelors		2001

State / Court	Date
New York	2005
New Jersey	2004

• New Jersey State Bar Association | Election Committee | Chair | 2014 - Present
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Election Law Committee | Member | 2014 - Present
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Business and Commercial Litigation Committee | Member | 2014 - Present
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Board of Trustees | 2012 - 2014
  New Jersey Sales and Use Tax Review Commission | Governor-appointed | Member | 2012 - 2013
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | Chair | 2011 - 2012
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | Chair-Elect | 2010 - 2011
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Government and Public Sector Lawyers Committee | Member | 2009 - 2014
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | Treasurer | 2009 - 2010
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | Secretary | 2008 - 2009
  New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | Government Representative | 2006 - 2008

• Appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court Working Group on the Duty of Confidentiality and Wrongful Convictions | Designee of the New Jersey State Bar Association | 2019
  New Jersey Rising Starts | Super Lawyers Magazine | 2015-2019
  “Forty Under 40” | NJ BIZ Magazine | 2016
  Professional Achievement Award | New Jersey State Bar Association | Young Lawyers Division | 2014
  Commendation | Essex County Prosecutor's Office | 2009
  The George H. Hambrecht Law School Award | Muhlenberg College | 2001

• Fraud Client charged in federal court with $30 million “pump and dump” stock fraud scheme Client charged in state court with check fraud. All charges dismissed. Client charged in state court with credit card fraud. All charges dismissed. Client investigated in federal court for financial fraud related to credit card activity. Investigation terminated without charges. Corruption & Election Crimes Client investigated by State for violations of the Local Government Ethics Law. Investigation terminated without charges. Client charged in federal court with election fraud. RICO Client charged in federal court with RICO conspiracy, among other offenses. Hung jury resulting in a mistrial after six-month trial with over 100 witnesses. Client charged in federal court with murder in aid of racketeering. Theft Client nurse charged in state court with destruction, falsification or alteration of records and theft by unlawful taking. All charges dismissed. Murder Client charged in state court with attempted murder. All charges dismissed after defense motion for misrepresentation during grand jury presentation. Weapons Client charged in state court with possessing a handgun in a vehicle. All charges dismissed. Doctors & Hospitals Clients charged by state with insurance fraud. Clients charged with unlawful involuntary commitment to psychiatric facility in action brought by former school teacher. No cause defense verdict. Professional board investigations resulting in dismissals or favorable settlements.

• The Role of Public Safety Assessment in Pretrial Detention
  The Use of Social Media in Preparation For and During Trial
  Using Expert OPRA Advice To Increase Transparency and Save Money
  

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• Brandon Minde
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