NIALENA CARAVASOS

NiaLena Caravasos, a shareholder in the Law Firm of Fitzpatrick & Caravasos, PC, is a passionate advocate who doesn't take no for an answer and who gives personal attention to all clients. Many of her courtroom successes have come in matters that others considered hopeless.

Ms. Caravasos concentrates her criminal defense practice in federal and state trials and appeals. Throughout the years, Ms. Caravasos has achieved successful results in difficult cases including federal drug trafficking, federal firearms violations, sex crimes, death penalty homicides, RICO/racketeering, PCRA, federal habeas, federal grand jury investigations, fraud, money laundering, white collar crime, and federal sentencing downward departures. Early in her career, Ms. Caravasos was the youngest and only female attorney to defend a reputed organized crime figure in the nearly five-month federal RICO prosecution of United States v. Joseph Merlino. Her closing argument on behalf of her client, Frank Gambino, was subsequently selected by Houston Law Professor Ray Moses among submissions by criminal attorneys nationwide and featured on the web site for the Center For Criminal Justice Advocacy. Excerpts from Ms. Caravasos' closing argument can be found in the Spotlight section.

Ms. Caravasos has since assumed the role of lead counsel on behalf of the defense in numerous serious multi-defendant criminal cases. She has been described by the Philadelphia Daily News as "deliberate," "sincere," "extremely thorough," and "tireless advocate" who "allows no legal issue to escape her attention" and by George Anastasia in The Last Gangster as "no-nonsense". After being selected by her peers and featured by Philadelphia Magazine as a "Pennsylvania Rising Star Super Lawyer" in December 2005 and December 2006, she was also featured in articles in The Hellenic Voice and Hellenic Communication Service, LLC, publications devoted to issues of interest to the Greek-American community. Moreover, Ms. Caravasos was recently the youngest lawyer selected by her peers and featured by Philadelphia Magazine as a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" in June 2008 in the field of criminal defense.

Ms. Caravasos is the co-author with Mr. Fitzpatrick of an article entitled, "Ineffective Assistance of Counsel", which was published in The Philadelphia Lawyer, The Forum, and The Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Bars. For more information about Ms. Caravasos, please visit the In The News and In Criminal Defense sections.

Education & Experience

Ms. Caravasos graduated cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a dual major in Marketing and Multinational Management. After working as Director of International Marketing for a computer accessories firm, she continued on to law school.

Ms. Caravasos graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1993 with several awards, including the Commencement BNA Law Student Award as well as the American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Trial Practice. She further enjoyed the honor of being the student speaker at the commencement faculty reception.

After interning in the District Attorney's Offices of both Philadelphia and Cambridge (Massachusetts), Ms. Caravasos served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Lisa Richette of the Homicide Program of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia. In 1997, she joined the Law Firm of F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, PC, which in 2006 was renamed, Fitzpatrick & Caravasos, PC.

Court Admissions

Supreme Court of the United States of America
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Supreme Court of Massachusetts
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of PA
United States Tax Court

Personal Notes

Ms. Caravasos enjoys lecturing about criminal law issues. In June, 2000, she gave two presentations at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's 17th Annual Criminal Law Symposium on the topic of "A Game of Hide and Seek? Discovery in Criminal Law Cases". In recent years Ms. Caravasos has also been a frequent guest lecturer at The Wharton School on the general topic of criminal defense and the specific subject of the defense of corporate executives charged with white collar crime.

Throughout the years of 2004-2007, Ms. Caravasos has been a professional guest speaker and evaluator in Management/Leadership classes at The Wharton School. She is also a member of the Hellenic Lawyers Association, Who's Who in American Law, the Federal Bar Association Criminal Law Committee, and both the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Ms. Caravasos has lived in Greece and is fluent in the Greek language. She has also traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Swimming in the Aegean Sea is one of her life's passions, which she enjoys whenever possible.