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Lebedin Kofman LLP practices criminal and DWI defense from the third floor of 26 Broadway, directly in front of the Charging Bull — and fields cases in Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Portuguese, one of the broadest language capacities in this category. Its record is also the most genuinely mixed one this category has produced, and consistent with our editorial policy, this profile presents both sides of it rather than only the flattering one.
At a Glance
| Firm | Lebedin Kofman LLP |
| Founding Partners | Arthur Lebedin and Russ Kofman; criminal-defense team includes associates Jessica Gorman, Michael (associate roster per firm site), and Eric Prusan |
| Office | 26 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10004 (Bowling Green, lower Manhattan) |
| Focus | Criminal defense, DWI/DUI and vehicular crimes, federal defense, fraud, sex offenses, and Title IX matters across the five boroughs and Long Island; Lebedin separately practices consumer and debt law |
| Languages | Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Portuguese, in addition to English |
| Fee Structure | Free consultation; 24/7 availability; payment plans reported by clients |
Career History
Kofman, the managing partner, is a state-and-federal litigator whose Super Lawyers listing designates DUI/DWI among his practice areas alongside criminal defense and white-collar work. Lebedin’s path is different: a business-law certificate, a summer associate stint with JPMorgan Chase Legal, and a concentration in consumer and debt matters — his Super Lawyers listing pairs consumer law and bankruptcy with DUI/DWI. The firm describes itself as a deliberately boutique operation whose partners keep cases rather than passing them down, supported by a criminal-defense associate bench. It reports having helped thousands of clients across its practice areas.
Practice Concentration
The DWI line is structural: the firm’s site organizes intake around it — a dedicated path for clients with a DWI, refusal, or vehicle case, oriented to the license-clock deadlines that make the first days after a New York DWI arrest decisive — and DWI, DUI, and vehicular crimes sit at the top of its stated practice areas, with both name partners carrying DUI/DWI practice designations. The five-language capacity matters in this category for a practical reason: a DWI arrest is a paperwork-and-deadline gauntlet, and a defendant navigating it in a second language is at a structural disadvantage the firm is built to address. The broader practice spans state criminal defense, federal matters, fraud, sex offenses, Title IX, and — through Lebedin — consumer and debt work.
Track Record
The firm’s review record includes specific favorable outcomes: DWI cases dismissed, an assault-on-an-officer charge fully dismissed, a domestic-violence case dismissed as counsel predicted, and a civil recovery against the city in a false-arrest matter. These are client-reported and firm-published outcomes, attributed as such; this research did not independently verify individual dispositions. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.
Client Voice
This is the section where this firm’s record demands the fuller treatment, and we give it. The positive record is substantial: 98 reviews on Yelp alone, with recurring, specific praise — one DWI client urged that anyone “looking for a DWI lawyer in NYC” call the firm, and a dozen Yelp reviews echo that Kofman’s communication made clients feel their case was his priority. The adverse record is real and recent: the firm’s aggregate rating on one review platform stands at 4.4, below the norm for this category, and 2025 reviews include a cluster of harsh allegations — clients or their relatives claiming unreturned calls, insufficient effort, and poor outcomes, and one non-DWI (collections) client asserting that they filed a legal malpractice action and reported the firm to attorney ethics authorities in New York and New Jersey. These are unverified allegations by reviewers, not findings; this research did not surface any adjudicated public disciplinary determination against either partner. We report the allegations because our policy is disclosure over omission, and readers should weigh them alongside the larger positive record and conduct their own diligence.
Beyond the Courtroom
The firm’s community-facing posture is access-driven: five-language intake, 24/7 free consultations, client payment plans, and a published resource library organizing New York criminal and DWI procedure by charge, court, and county — genuinely useful public legal information for defendants trying to understand their first seventy-two hours.
Recognition
Both partners hold Super Lawyers profile listings with DUI/DWI among their designated areas — peer-influenced, research-driven listings by a commercial publication, categorized here as peer-informed recognition rather than certification. The firm’s lawyers have chosen not to display peer reviews on the Martindale network, which we note as a transparency limitation. A disclosure we apply to every New York profile: New York State does not operate a board certification program for legal specialties comparable to the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, so no New York attorney profile on this site will describe its subject as a state-certified specialist, and this profile attributes no certification to either partner.
New York Legal Backdrop
New York’s impaired-driving offenses are tiered under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192: Driving While Ability Impaired by alcohol (§ 1192(1)) is a traffic infraction typically charged between .05 and .07 BAC; per se DWI (§ 1192(2)) begins at .08; Aggravated DWI (§ 1192(2-a)(a)) begins at .18. Leandra’s Law makes DWI with a child aged 15 or younger in the vehicle (§ 1192(2-a)(b)) a class E felony on a first offense, and VTL § 1198 mandates ignition interlock devices for misdemeanor and felony DWI convictions. A second DWI within ten years is a felony under § 1193, and a chemical-test refusal triggers a separate DMV hearing under § 1194 — which must be requested promptly — that can revoke a license for at least a year regardless of the criminal outcome. The first days after arrest are when suspension, hardship-privilege, and refusal-hearing deadlines run, which is why intake speed and language access are not conveniences but case factors. None of this is legal advice; consult a licensed New York attorney about your situation.
Awesome Attorneys Assessment
The genuine strengths: a structurally real DWI practice with deadline-oriented intake, the category’s widest language coverage, a large and mostly positive review base with specific DWI outcomes, boutique partner attention as the stated model, and payment flexibility.
The honest trade-offs, stated as plainly as anywhere on this site: the recent review record contains a cluster of serious, if unadjudicated, client allegations — including one reviewer’s claimed malpractice suit and ethics complaints — and a below-category aggregate rating on at least one platform. The partners’ practice mix is unusual for the category, with one name partner concentrated in consumer-debt law rather than criminal defense. And the firm does not display peer reviews. None of this is disqualifying on the verified record, which shows no public discipline; all of it belongs in a prospective client’s calculus, and we would rather publish it than curate it away.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys in August 2026 without the participation, sponsorship, or payment of Lebedin Kofman LLP. Primary sources: the firm’s website (lebedinkofman.com), including its legal-team, practice-area, and reviews pages. Independent verification: Super Lawyers firm profile (office at 26 Broadway, 3rd Floor; both partners’ DUI/DWI practice designations and their respective concentrations); Yelp listing (98 reviews, hours, review themes); Lawyers.com/Martindale network listing (adverse 2025 reviews summarized above; non-display of peer reviews); TrustAnalytica aggregate rating (4.4) and the collections-client allegation disclosed in Client Voice. Adverse claims are attributed as reviewer allegations, and this research found no adjudicated public disciplinary determination against either partner. Statutes cited in the New York Legal Backdrop were verified against New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1192, 1193, 1194, and 1198.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal-directory publisher. This profile was not paid for by Lebedin Kofman LLP, and inclusion in our editorial coverage cannot be purchased. Our methodology and editorial standards are applied consistently across all firms we cover.