Federal Target Letter Defense Attorney

The Department of Justice customarily sends target letters to individuals who are the target of a grand jury investigation and to those who are the subject of a grand jury investigation. One is considered a target of the investigation when they are a person whom the U.S. attorney believes has "substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime," who has information that would be helpful to an investigation, and whose "conduct falls within the scope of the grand jury investigation."

If you receive a target letter, it's likely the government intends to charge you with a criminal offense. You can read a sample target letter on the U.S. Department of Justice website.

Hire an attorney that has experience with your case

The first step you should take if you have received a target letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) or a U.S. Attorney's Office is to immediately contact an experienced federal criminal defense attorney. The investigation against you may have just begun, or it may have been going on for months or years before you receive a letter alerting you that the government has pin-pointed you as a target or subject of a grand jury investigation. The prosecutor may be about to charge you or may not. The prosecutor knows these things, but you can not.

A federal target letter defense attorney from Birrell Criminal Defense can guide you through the entire federal criminal process. An experienced lawyer from our firm may be able to help you avoid the actual filing of criminal charges through negotiation with federal prosecutors, through counseling on how to respond to government inquiries or through limiting the invasive scope of a grand jury investigation.

At no point should you attempt without the benefit of counsel to explain your involvement in a potentially illegal scheme to federal agents or investigators. What you say will be used against you and that you will actually hurt your defense rather than help it. Before you take any steps, contact us to privately discuss your matter with the experienced members of the firm.