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John Paul DeVerna runs his practice on both sides of the criminal justice system’s aftermath: defending New Yorkers against criminal charges under the DeVerna Law banner, and suing the city over false arrests, police brutality, and Rikers Island abuse under a second brand whose name states the mission — Sue City. The former Kings County felony prosecutor has completed more than a thousand cases across Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Richmond County, and Long Island from his office at 111 John Street.
At a Glance
| Firm | John Paul DeVerna ESQ PC — criminal defense as DeVerna Law; civil rights and injury litigation as Sue City (established 2014) |
| Principal Attorney | John Paul DeVerna; supported by internationally trained legal staff working under New York bar supervision |
| Office | 111 John Street, Suite 1850, New York, NY 10038 (lower Manhattan) |
| Focus | Criminal defense across the five boroughs and Long Island — assault, drug, domestic violence, DWI, and the broader charge spectrum — plus civil rights litigation (false arrest, police brutality, malicious prosecution) and personal injury |
| Background | Former felony prosecutor, Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office, in both the investigative and trial divisions; prior experience at the New York State Attorney General’s Office and for a New York federal judge |
| Education | University of Maryland; J.D., Brooklyn Law School (2008); admitted in New York, 2008 |
| Fee Structure | Free case assessment; 24/7 on-call attorney availability; virtual consultations |
Career History
DeVerna graduated from Brooklyn Law School and was admitted in 2008, built his early career in public service — the New York State Attorney General’s Office, work for a New York federal judge, and then the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where he served as a felony prosecutor in both the investigative and trial divisions — before founding his own firm in 2014. The public-service thread predates the law degree: he served in AmeriCorps, worked as a community liaison to a major New York City hospital, and sits on his local Community Board. He has held Super Lawyers selection for 2020 through 2024 and again for 2026.
Practice Concentration
The criminal practice is the firm’s founding line and remains its front door: a dedicated criminal-defense operation covering assault, drug possession, domestic violence, DWI, and the full charge spectrum, marketed on the former-prosecutor premise that a lawyer who was taught the DA’s playbook knows the angles against it. The structure we describe plainly, per our policy on mixed practices: the same professional corporation operates a second brand, Sue City, for plaintiffs’ civil rights and injury litigation — false arrest, police misconduct, malicious prosecution, and claims by victims of abuse at Rikers Island. The two lines are procedurally complementary rather than conflicting: the suppression issues that win criminal cases are the same unlawful-conduct issues that fund civil rights recoveries, and a lawyer litigating both sees each more clearly.
Track Record
The firm reports more than one thousand successfully completed cases across the city’s counties and Long Island, and states that ninety-five percent of its private criminal clients receive non-criminal disposition offers or trial wins — figures we attribute as the firm’s own claims, as no independent dispositions ledger exists to verify them. On the civil side, the firm reports monetary recoveries for false-arrest, brutality, and malicious-prosecution clients. Client reviews add specific outcomes, including a criminal case dismissed and sealed in under a year. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.
Client Voice
The Avvo record runs to ten reviews across criminal, DWI, domestic violence, and civil matters, uniformly positive and outcome-forward. One client wrote simply: “If you want to have your case dismissed, JPD is your guy,” crediting clear communication and professional courtroom representation on the way to a dismissal-and-seal. Reviewers describe a calm, clear-objective advocate who leverages the prosecutor-turned-defender vantage. The review base is modest relative to this category’s volume practices, which we note plainly. This research did not surface any public disciplinary findings.
Beyond the Courtroom
DeVerna’s community record is unusually civic for this category: AmeriCorps service, hospital community-liaison work, and a seat on his local Community Board — the retail level of New York self-governance. The Rikers Island abuse docket on the firm’s civil side functions as accountability litigation for one of the country’s most scrutinized jails, and the firm’s stated mission — restoring balance against more powerful institutions — runs through both brands.
Recognition
DeVerna holds Super Lawyers selection for 2020–2024 and 2026 with Criminal Defense among his designated areas — peer-informed recognition from a commercial publication, categorized as such rather than certification. 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 DeVerna.
New York Legal Backdrop
A New York criminal case moves on statutory clocks that defendants rarely know exist. After arrest, arraignment generally must occur within about twenty-four hours; a felony defendant held on bail must be released under CPL § 180.80 if the prosecution fails to secure grand jury action within the statutory period (120 hours, or 144 hours spanning a weekend or holiday). CPL § 30.30 sets speedy-trial clocks — six months on most felonies, ninety days on class A misdemeanors — that run against the prosecution and can end a case outright. New York’s discovery reform, CPL Article 245, obligates prosecutors to turn over their evidence on an automatic timetable, and CPL § 160.59 permits sealing of up to two eligible convictions after a ten-year crime-free period. And when an arrest was unlawful to begin with, the criminal court’s suppression remedy has a civil twin: New York and federal law allow damages claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution — the second front on which this firm practices. None of this is legal advice; consult a licensed New York attorney about your situation.
Awesome Attorneys Assessment
The case for DeVerna is the two-front model with a prosecutor’s formation behind it: felony-level Brooklyn DA experience spanning investigation and trial, AG’s-office and federal-chambers seasoning, a thousand-case criminal record across every borough, 24/7 accessibility, and a civil rights docket that keeps his suppression instincts sharp and gives wrongfully arrested clients a path to compensation, not just dismissal.
The honest trade-offs, stated plainly: the dual-brand structure means criminal defense shares the firm’s attention with an actively marketed plaintiffs’ practice — clients should ask how their matter will be staffed; the thousand-case and ninety-five-percent figures are self-reported and unverifiable from public sources; the consumer-review base is modest; the supporting legal staff includes internationally trained professionals not licensed in New York, working under bar-member supervision as the firm discloses; and there is no published itemized results ledger.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys in August 2026 without the participation, sponsorship, or payment of John Paul DeVerna ESQ PC. Primary sources: the firm’s websites (mynylawyer.com and suecity.com), including attorney-profile, criminal-law, contact, and about pages (office address; former-felony-prosecutor background across investigative and trial divisions; AG’s Office and federal-judge experience; 2014 founding; the 1,000+ case and 95% claims attributed above as the firm’s own; AmeriCorps, hospital-liaison, and Community Board service; staff composition and supervision disclosure). Independent verification: Super Lawyers profile (Brooklyn Law 2008; 2008 admission; selections 2020–2024 and 2026); Avvo profile and its ten client reviews (University of Maryland undergraduate degree; Kings County DA service; review content quoted above); Yelp listing (2014 establishment; former-felony-prosecutor description). The dual-brand structure (DeVerna Law / Sue City) is disclosed in Practice Concentration per our mixed-practice policy. Statutes cited in the New York Legal Backdrop were verified against the New York Criminal Procedure Law (§§ 30.30, 160.59, 180.80, and Article 245).
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal-directory publisher. This profile was not paid for by John Paul DeVerna ESQ PC, and inclusion in our editorial coverage cannot be purchased. Our methodology and editorial standards are applied consistently across all firms we cover.