Kenneth J. Montgomery, Esq.
After graduating from Fordham Law School in 1997, Kenneth honed his skills as a litigator at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. As a prosecutor, he worked in the red zone, which covered high-crime areas in northern Brooklyn, including East New York and Flatbush.
His career as a prosecutor included time in the sex crimes unit, the juvenile designated felony unit, grand jury and investigations, the complaint room, and the Violent Gang Bureau, where he resigned from the office in 2001.
In 2001, Kenneth founded his litigation firm and began his impressive career as a skilled litigator and trial attorney in both federal and state courts in the Second Circuit and nationwide. Over the last 25 years, he has successfully litigated and defended clients charged with everything from federal capital murder, RICO, conspiracy, narco-Terrorism, white-collar crimes, terrorism, murder, drug possession, weapons possession, sex crimes, espionage, and other serious federal and state crimes. Montgomery has also represented numerous clients in numerous high-profile cases.
He has also litigated wrongful death and personal injury claims and civil rights violations. However, his legal passion is inspired and centered around the challenging nature and demands of capital and federal criminal defense. His desire and journey to become a criminal defense attorney began after being forced to read Malcolm X's autobiography by his Aunt Edith Pittman in the 3rd grade. His fire was lit after reading that Malcolm X was told he should be a carpenter and not a lawyer, which was his desire in grade school. It was further sparked as he read more history and observed his surroundings while growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
As a criminal defense attorney, Kenneth has litigated over 100 criminal trials as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, obtaining over 60 not-guilty jury verdicts. He is a member of the prestigious Federal CJA panel in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, where he also serves on both Capital panels. Kenneth is a former member of the federal death penalty working group in Washington, D.C., known as DPGW. Kenneth also served as a trial advocacy adjunct professor at Fordham Law School for 24 years and as a professor in the African American studies department at Brooklyn College. Currently, Kenneth teaches with his partners at the Brooklyn Combine at Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center, one block away from the public school he attended in Brownsville, Brooklyn, as a child. Being a student of life has kept him humble and focused while remaining client-centered. The client-centered approach has kept him humble and grounded despite the press attention of many of his cases. Kenneth also serves on the Kings County Judiciary Committee and is currently the Federal CJA representative in the Eastern District of New York. In 2026, Kenneth was inducted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers as a fellow, recognized as one of the most skilled and accomplished trial attorneys in the country.
His work as a litigator is informed by his work as a founding member of The Brooklyn Combine, a non-profit community organization that partners with community, schools, juvenile jails, educators, and other community organizations to provide critical educational and mentoring programs focused on changing the narrative and removing the social, political, and economic alienation suffered by those in underserved communities. The Combine has partnered with Ember High School, City Poly High School, Mott Hall Bridges Academy, One Love Community Fridge, Jack Arts, KAVI, Brooklyn to Alaska, and Crossroads Juvenile Facility to provide essential programming. Kenneth is also board chair at Success Academy Charter School and a board member at the Ella Baker Institute and the Eric Edwards African Art Museum in Brooklyn. Ultimately, the goal is to put himself and other criminal defense lawyers out of business by addressing the underlying causes of racism and poverty in underserved communities.
Having grown up in Brownsville and the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn at a time when many of his peers were incarcerated or killed, the work Kenneth is most proud of is not his legal career but his work as a member of the Brooklyn Combine and the greater Brooklyn community. Kenneth is married to Candace Montgomery and is the father of Stone, Jade, and Jett Montgomery. His work is inspired by his late mother, Barbara Montgomery, who served as his office manager until her death in 2023, his late father, Henry Montgomery, and his ancestors. Kenneth is further inspired by all the brilliant children he grew up with in Brooklyn and NYC who were not fortunate enough to survive Brooklyn.
Kenneth is considered to be one of the top criminal trial attorneys and litigators in the country.
