James A. Abate Esq.

James A. Abate is a partner with Aiello, Harris, Abate Law Group. Mr. Abate’s practice is focused in Criminal Law, DWI Defense, Domestic Violence and Appellate practice. Mr. Abate is certified as an instructor in the administration of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE) tests. Mr. Abate recently moderated the symposium “Emerging From The Pandemic” at the New Jersey Bar Association Meetings, which featured a who’s who of Judges, Prosecutors and Defense Counsel. Mr. Abate is a member of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDLNJ), National College for DWI Defense and Mr. Abate is the Legislative Chair for the New Jersey Bar Association Municipal Court Practice Section.

Mr. Abate represents individuals from all walks of life including Actors, Athletes and Politicians. Mr. Abate successfully defended New York Giants cornerback Kamrin Moore securing the dismissal of a Temporary Restraining Order and Criminal charges securing his path for removal from the commissioner’s exempt list. Mr. Abate’s reported cases include the seminal Domestic Violence case of R.G. v. R.G. and State v. Thompson, which redefined operation in DWI cases. Mr. Abate has been featured in various media including ESPN, Bleacher Report, CNN, The New York Post, NJ.Com, and the blog Advocacy for Fairness in Sports. Mr. Abate was a candidate for New Jersey State Senate in the 2022 election.

Mr. Abate is rated by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the preeminent defense lawyers for DWI Defense and Domestic Violence litigation. Mr. Abate holds a rating of 10.0 from Avvo- the highest ranking possible, 5.0 from Findlaw, and 4.5 from Google. You can learn further about Mr. Abate and his team from his over 100 reviews from prior clients.

Aiello, Harris, Abate Law Group is a full-service law firm that handles cases in Criminal Law, Employment Law, Personal Injury, Family Law, Workers Compensation and Appellate Practice.

• Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York
  • J.D. – 1999
  • Honors: cum laude
  • Honors: Markhoff Scholar
  • Honors: Trial Team, Semifinalist, 1998
  • Honors: Dean’s List
  • Honors: Cornelius T. Wickersham Award
• Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York
  • B.F.A. – 1996
  • Honors: cum laude
  • Honors: With Honors

• New York
• New Jersey
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit

• Somerset County Bar Association
• Union County Bar Association
• New Jersey Bar Association
• Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey
• New York Bar Association
• National Association of Subrogation Professionals
• American Trial Lawyers Association
• American Bar Association, Tort, Insurance, Business, Litigation and Property Section

• Attorney

• Eastern District of New York at the United States Attorney’s Office, Law Intern
• United States District Judge David G. Trager

• Certified in the administration of the NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs)
• Certified in the administration of the NHTSA Drug Recognition Evaluations (DRE)