Jeff Grant possesses an intriguing narrative that he candidly recounts. His journey began with opioid addiction and culminated in him borrowing funds from clients’ accounts, leading to his incarceration. Jeff underwent a transformative experience, earning his Master of Divinity degree and successfully reinstating his law license. He now serves as the visionary behind Progressive Prison Ministries and GrantLaw, which is dedicated to aiding individuals convicted of white-collar offenses by providing them with moral support and defense. This episode will be one of your favorites.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- [01:27] Jeff shares his background story from being a successful lawyer to drug addiction and hopelessness ending in attempted suicide
- [04:21] Would white-collar crime still have been manifested if it were not for drug addiction? Jeff discusses the motivations of people within the Progressive Prison Ministries
- [08:16] Arden asks if financial institutions unintentionally reward people with values that lead them down a white-collar path
- [11:45] Jeff discusses life before and after crime and how families cope with life after white-collar crime
- [18:24] Jeff discusses what his family experienced and why he started GrantLaw Firm
- [26:27] Jeff gives his advice to anyone who finds themselves involved in a white-collar crime scenario
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- White-collar crime brings down a lot more than just you. It brings down your family, friends, and sometimes an entire community.
- Insider trading is a crime of opportunity and a lifetime sentence even after serving time.
- Many marriages do not survive white-collar crime, but there is hope, and listeners can contact Jeff’s firm for advice.
RESOURCES:
Beyond the Balance Sheet Website
BIOGRAPHY
After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison (2006 – 07) for a white-collar crime (SBA loan fraud) he committed in 2001, Jeff started his reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, majoring in Social Ethics. After graduating from divinity school, Jeff was called to serve at an inner city church in Bridgeport, CT as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. He then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first ministry dedicated to serving people navigating the white-collar criminal justice system.
On May 5, 2021, Jeff’s law license was reinstated by the Supreme Court of the State of New York. On August 10, 2022, he celebrated 20 years of continuous sobriety.
Jeff has founded the law firm of GrantLaw, PLLC, is once again in private practice in New York City and is committed to using his legal expertise and life experience to benefit others.
GrantLaw, PLLC, is a new type of law firm providing private general counsel services to clients who have previously faced or who could be facing white-collar prosecutions and regulatory proceedings and their companies and families. In this role, Jeff and his team assist clients in making critical and timely business and family decisions and in executing them so that they have the best chance to come out the other side with lives of purpose, meaning and success.
“Jeff Grant is the real deal… I can’t imagine there is a lawyer in this country more qualified to consider the complex issues facing people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families.” – Evan Osnos, Staff Writer, The New Yorker.
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