Bruce is a former federal and state prosecutor who has practiced criminal law for more than 35 years. During that time, he has tried virtually every type of criminal case - from securities fraud to murder and has represented individuals ranging from celebrities to indigent clients as a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel of the Southern District of New York. As a result of his professional accomplishments, Bruce was inducted in 2009 as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and recently completed a two-year term as chair of its Downstate New York Committee.
Bruce also has conducted internal investigations for various companies and labor unions and currently serves as the Ethical Practices Officer for AFSCME District Council 37, New York City’s largest municipal union, where he is responsible for investigating allegations of corruption among that union’s approximately 120,000 members.
Between 1984 and 1989, Bruce was a prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Strike Force for the Eastern District of New York. There, he was responsible for bringing a number of historic RICO prosecutions, including United States v. Schwimmer, 924 F. 2d 443 (2d Cir. 1991), the first major prosecution of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980's and a case that dramatically expanded the scope of liability for union pension fund advisers. Based on his efforts, in that case, Bruce testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee about the challenges involved in investigating complex financial crime cases.
In addition to his fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers, Bruce consistently has been selected as a Super Lawyer and Best Lawyer in his practice area. He is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and New Hampshire, as well as the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Districts of Connecticut and New Hampshire, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.