Position: Member

TEL: 704-338-1220

FAX: 704-338-1312

Email: Click Here

Website: www.tinfulton.com

Admitted: 2003, New York and North Carolina

Law School: New York University School of Law, J.D., 2002

College: Wesleyan University, B.A., 1997

Birth Date and Place: New York, N.Y.

Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, Civil Rights

Additional Information: 

Born and raised in New York City, Jake Sussman received his law degree from New York University School of Law in 2002, where he was a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar. Following law school, Jake clerked for the Honorable Ellen B. Burns, United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut. Jake then moved to North Carolina and practiced with Ferguson Stein Chambers Gresham & Sumter before joining Tin Fulton Walker & Owen in 2011. Jake’s practice primarily focuses on criminal defense in federal and state courts. He handles all manner of cases, from “white collar” crimes to drug conspiracies to capital cases, and at all stages of litigation, including pre-indictment, trial, and appeal. Jake also represents licensed professionals, including other lawyers, on ethics and disciplinary matters before the State Bar, and has represented clients in regulatory proceedings involving the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Jake has represented clients in other states, including Brian Nichols in a high-profile capital murder trial in Fulton County, Georgia, and multiple plaintiffs in a federal race discrimination lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. In addition to his criminal practice, Jake handles civil rights and law enforcement misconduct cases. In this area, Jake has represented individuals in claims against federal, state, and local governments, and has litigated federal and state constitutional actions, as well as state tort actions for intentional or negligent conduct. In 2014, Jake was one of the lead lawyers in General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Reisinger, which successfully challenged North Carolina’s ban against same-sex marriage. Click here to read the court order striking down North Carolina’s Amendment One. Jake has been selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and the “Legal Elite” by Business North Carolina, and has been awarded an AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethical standards. Before entering law school, Jake worked as an investigator on death penalty cases in Alabama, Georgia and California. During law school, he clerked with the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., the Bronx Defenders, and the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society, where he represented youth in juvenile delinquency proceedings. Jake is a volunteer soccer coach for Charlotte Junior Soccer and a proud member of the 2014 Mecklenburg County Lawyers’ Basketball League champions.

Mecklenburg County and North Carolina Bar Associations; Mecklenburg County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Best Lawyers in America: White Collar Criminal Defense (2013-2015); Super Lawyers (2014); Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar (1999-2002); Unlimited Innocence: Recognizing an "Actual Innocence" Exception to AEDPA's Statute of Limitations, 27 NYU Rev. L. & Soc. Change 343 (2001-2002); Suspect Choices: Lineup Procedures and the Abdication of Judicial and Prosecutorial Responsibility for Improving the Criminal Justice System, 27 NYU Rev. L. & Soc. Change 507 (2001-2002).

Firm Members: Noell Tin

Firm Members: Cheyenne Chambers