Gerald Shargel is a defense attorney known to have represented high profile clients. Born in 1944, he is based in New York City and has been a New York Bar member since 1969. Both an appellate and trial attorney, he has defended white collar defendants, as well as ordinary clients. However, he, together with Bruce Cutler, is best known for helping John Gotti Sr get acquitted in 1991 on accusations of an arranged assault on a labor union executive. Another high profile client of his was Daniel Pelosi, who was accused of the murder of Ted Ammon, an East Hampton millionaire.

From October 2009 to March 2010, Gerald Shargel defended Robert “Joe” Halderman. His client was accused of the extortion of David Letterman, comedian and host of The Late Show with David Letterman. Halderman eventually entered a guilty plea.

A commentator and writer on lawful issues, he also works as a Practitioner-In-Residence at Brooklyn Law School. There, he is an Evidence and Criminal Procedure professor.

A graduate of Rutgers University (1966) and Brooklyn Law School (1969), Gerald Shargel also represented the following clients:

• Marc Dreier
• Gurmeet Shingh Dhinsa
• James Coonan
• Jeffrey Chodorow
• Daniel Pelosi
• Chris Gotti