Professional Profiles Rick Collins practices primarily criminal defense and has successfully tried many serious felony cases to verdict, including acquittals on charges such as armed robbery and intentional arson. He has also conducted civil litigation, recently traveling on a commission to Stockholm, Sweden, for genealogical kinship hearings on behalf of the Public Administrator of Nassau County. He has successfully represented people from all walks of life, and is known for his thorough and attentive service to all of his clients. A former competitive bodybuilder and certified personal trainer, he often advises legal clients in the strength, health and fitness community. Rick is recognized as a legal authority on the non-medical use of anabolic steroids, and has been involved in the defense of countless cases involving sports performance drugs. He has personally defended individuals in a variety of jurisdictions from New York to California and at the borders of Canada and Mexico (he is admitted to practice in the Federal Court for the Western District of Texas). He has been consulted by amateur and professional bodybuilders, wrestlers, physicians, pharmacists, longevity centers, military servicemen, police departments, and various business entities. He was retained last year by a coalition of nutritional supplement companies to spearhead a presentation of scientific evidence and legal arguments to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington on the distinctions between the prohormone androstenedione and anabolic steroids. He frequently assists other criminal lawyers in the defense of sports drug prosecutions. Rick is the monthly legal columnist for the nationally circulated Muscular Development magazine, and a member of their Advisory Board. He maintains a web site at www.SteroidLaw.com with extensive information for the public about steroids and the law. Rick was honored with the 2001 President's Award of the Nassau County Bar Association. He works on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association, and has testified regarding criminal justice issues before the Council of the City of New York on behalf of the 60,000 members of the association. He is the President of the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Nassau County and an officer or member of numerous other state and national professional organizations including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the New York State Defenders Association. He is an annual faculty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, having served as Team Leader. He has been formally rated by his peers as a lawyer practicing at the highest levels of skill and integrity. He has appeared as a legal commentator on the nationally televised NewsTalk Television Network, and frequently lectures on trial practice and criminal law issues. A resourceful advocate, Rick's court room arguments regarding prosecutorial cross-examination limits in the grand jury (in People v. Larry Smith) were affirmed by the New York State Court of Appeals. Rick was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate at Hofstra University. After attending law school on a full academic scholarship and serving on the Law Review, he was admitted to the New York Bar and served as an assistant district attorney for five years. Rick is the Editor-in-Chief of the Nassau Lawyer, the journal of the Nassau County Bar. He is also active in community programs and civic associations. In the past he has worked as a stage and film actor, and is a member of the Screen Actor's Guild. Bob McDonald concentrates on matters of criminal defense and matters in the Surrogate Court. He regularly handles the probate of estates, kinship hearings, and other legal matters as Counsel for the Public Administrator of Nassau County. He is an experienced litigator who has successfully handled myriad complex criminal cases throughout the New York metropolitan area. Known and well-liked throughout the Nassau County legal community, Bob has received the "Jurisperitus Award" by the Court Officer's Benevolent Association of Nassau County. He has been formally rated by the legal community as a lawyer of very high to preeminent skill and integrity. He was nominated for the position of District Court Judge, receiving a rating of "Well Qualified" from the Nassau County Bar Association and the endorsement of the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Benevolent Associations. Bob is a Vice-Chair of the Nassau County Democratic Party. He has been appointed as a member of the Party's Judicial Screening Committee, overseeing the selection of judicial candidates, and also as a member of the Party's Bylaws Committee. Bob continues to be a member of the Grievance Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, reviewing the levels of legal competence and professional conduct of other lawyers and conducting investigations into allegations of legal misconduct in the Tenth Judicial District. Additionally, he has been selected by the Supreme Court, Appellate Division to become an official mediator of attorney-client disputes. Having tried more than sixty jury cases to verdict, Bob McDonald is known for his friendly and winning style of interacting with the jury panel during jury selection and throughout the trial. As an assistant district attorney (1984 to 1989), he handled a variety of drug cases and conducted a major narcotics investigation in the Long Island area. His background as a prosecutor now enables him to evaluate and defend controlled substance cases from a true "insider's" perspective. He has defended many high publicity cases, ranging from the "Gentleman Bandit" of the Upper East Side to the alleged leader of an international narcotics conspiracy. Bob serves as adjunct faculty at Hofstra University School of Law as a Special Professor of Law, appointed by the Dean. He also served as faculty for the annual National Institute of Trial Advocacy program, has been responsible for coaching the school's mock trial team to victory in the regional competition, and assists in the school's program for aspiring prosecutors. He received his undergraduate degree from New York University and his law degree from St. John's University School of Law. Marc Gann is a well-known and respected criminal defense practitioner who has handled numerous high-profile cases. While a very straightforward and especially persuasive negotiator, he is known as a formidable adversary once litigation begins. Marc has defended all forms of criminal cases - from traffic matters and drunk driving cases to major felonies - in the courts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau County and Suffolk County. He has handled serious felony charges in both the Southern and Eastern Federal Districts of New York. He is particularly experienced in the defense of murder cases, and has handled a variety of homicide cases including a double murder in Nassau County. He has also been lead counsel in the defense of a multi-defendant murder and kidnapping case that received national attention. He is admitted to practice both in New York and Maryland. He has taken verdicts on major felony charges such as burglary, robbery, drug sale and commercial fraud. He has examined and cross-examined all types of witnesses from civilian and police witnesses to experts in areas such as ballistics, fingerprints, serology and forensic pathology. He also has expertise in the defense of Driving While Intoxicated cases, having defended many hundreds of these cases. Having prosecuted drunk driving cases exclusively for a portion of his tenure as an assistant district attorney, trying numerous cases to verdict, he has a substantial practical advantage in now defending these cases. Marc has handled a variety of legal matters beyond criminal cases. Specifically, he has litigated numerous personal injury and other civil cases from inception to conclusion including depositions, arbitrations and trials. He has also handled cases before the Surrogate Court, including probate and administration matters and cases on behalf of the Public Administrator of Nassau County. Marc is an elected Director of the Nassau County Bar Association. He is Past Chair of the Criminal Courts Law and Procedure Committee of the Bar, where he planned and chaired continuing legal education programs and seminars for criminal lawyers throughout the county. He was honored as the recipient of the Association's 2001 Directors' Award for his outstanding contributions the legal community. He has frequently lectured to the local and State Bar Associations and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. In recognition of his superlative trial skills, he was asked to serve as Team Leader for the 2002 National Institute of Trial Advocacy program at Hofstra University Law School. The press has interviewed him on many occasions regarding issues of criminal law. He is President of the Former Assistant District Attorneys Association of Nassau County and is a member of the American Bar Association and other legal and professional associations. He is also highly active in community associations and volunteer programs, including serving in a Bar association program as a mentor to a child at a local middle school. He received his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and his law degree from Hofstra University School of Law. Following his tenure as a prosecutor in Nassau County, Marc spent several years in Baltimore handling both criminal and civil matters in State and Federal court before returning to New York to form Collins, McDonald and Gann, P.C.. Home About Us Profiles Arrested? Cases For Attorneys Collins, McDonald and Gann, P.C. One Old Country Road, Suite 250 Carle Place, NY, 11514 516-294-0300 516-294-0477 (Fax) 67 Wall Street, Suite 2211 New York, NY, 10005 212-643-3120 ©2002 Collins, McDonald and Gann, P.C.. All Rights Reserved. Please read the Disclaimer.