Focused on Maximum Sentence Reduction. Minimum Time Served.
Work directly with Joseph De Gregorio on federal sentencing preparation, PSR interviews, surrender and release planning. Define your next steps and the scope of support before an engagement.
Joseph reviews your inquiry for scope, timing and fit. A request does not book an appointment or retain SAG.
Law360 2026 Criminal Practice Editorial Advisory Board member · Bloomberg Law & Bloomberg Tax contributor · American Bar Association member and Criminal Justice Magazine contributor
Published Work & Media Appearances
Joseph De Gregorio’s published record includes Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax and the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice magazine. The links below distinguish authored analysis from media appearances and identify the original publication source.
Swipe to explore publications →
Explore the published record → Authored analysis and media appearances; no endorsement of SAG is implied.
Build the record that tells the full story.
SAG helps federal defendants prepare personal history, supporting documentation and an accurate narrative before sentencing. Work directly with Joseph De Gregorio on a defined preparation plan, with defense counsel reviewing legal questions and deciding how materials should be used.
Explore sentencing preparation →Prepare for custody. Plan for returning home.
SAG helps sentenced individuals and families organize surrender preparation, custody records and practical release planning. Joseph De Gregorio works directly with you to identify confirmed instructions, missing information and next steps within an individualized scope based on your current stage.
Explore prison and release planning →American Bar Association · Professional Education
Federal sentencing education at the ABA Learning Center
Joseph De Gregorio and Nicholas Kaizer are scheduled panelists for the ABA’s 60-minute webinar, Federal Sentencing Reduction: Engineering Drastic Downward Variances in White-Collar Matters, on October 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. The official program page provides registration details.
October 19, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. EDT · 60-minute online webinar
Read the work.
Meet the person behind it.
Joseph De Gregorio combines federal sentencing preparation with published analysis and professional education. His record includes recurring Bloomberg contributions, service on Law360’s 2026 Criminal Practice Editorial Advisory Board, and criminology teaching at Montclair State University.
Published analysis
Recurring Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax contributor. Authored work in Law360, the American Bar Association and Federal Bar Association.
Explore Bloomberg Law →Professional service
Member of Law360’s 2026 Criminal Practice Editorial Advisory Board. Visiting lecturer in criminology at Montclair State University.
Meet Joseph →In conversation
ABA fireside chat with Joe D. Whitley. JustPod guest. Us Weekly’s Uncovered with Kristin Thorne. Business Insider coverage.
Explore appearances →Building a body of work
that can be examined.
SAG Research is developing a study of how federal courts evaluate documented accountability, behavioral change and rehabilitation in public sentencing opinions from 2022–2025. The protocol is available for examination; the empirical study and independent review are not yet complete.
Now available: the research agenda, publication standards and draft protocol for a study of public federal sentencing opinions from 2022–2025. The empirical study and independent review are not yet complete.
Read the first study protocol → Research standards & disclosures →
Prepare the person’s complete story.
SAG helps organize personal history, accountability and documented change into a record defense counsel can evaluate for sentencing. The judicial observation below illustrates individualized sentencing; it is historical commentary, not an endorsement of SAG.
“I am sentencing the individual.”
Historical sentencing observation · Not an endorsement of SAG
Individualized preparation connects personal history, accountability and evidence of change. SAG helps organize that record so defense counsel can assess what matters in your case.
Professional relationships built through the work.
Attorneys Justin Danilewitz and Richard Levitt describe their experience working with Joseph in public recommendations dated October 13 and September 3, 2025. Their statements concern individual engagements and do not establish an expected sentencing or release outcome.
“Joe’s tenacity and genuine interest in helping clients get the best result is palpable. I'd gladly team up with Joe again, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to other counsel and their clients.”
Justin Danilewitz
Chambers-ranked white-collar defense attorney · Chair, White Collar and Government Enforcement Practice, Saul Ewing LLP
LinkedIn recommendation · October 13, 2025
“In each case Joseph delivered far above our expectations.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with Joseph and recommend him without reservation.”
Richard Levitt
Partner at Levitt & Kaizer
LinkedIn recommendation · September 3, 2025
Excerpts from individual public recommendations supplied by Joseph. Affiliations as displayed in the recommendations.
Understand the work behind each experience.
These accounts show different preparation needs and different decision points. Each identifies Joseph’s work, the reported outcome and the limits of the comparison.
Before the PSR interview
Published case: a 14-year guideline benchmark; one year and one day imposed.
In his December 8, 2025 Bloomberg Law article, Joseph describes six weeks of interview preparation, a personal narrative and records of rehabilitation and restitution in one client’s case.
Joseph’s published account. This compares the reported guideline benchmark with the original sentence imposed; it is not a later reduction of an existing sentence. The article does not establish a typical result or isolate the effect of SAG’s work.
Read the published case at Bloomberg Law →Mathew Bowyer: personal preparation
Reported guideline range: 41–51 months. Sentence imposed: 12 months and one day.
Bowyer retained Joseph directly for presentence interview preparation. The work focused on accountability, restitution, a personal narrative and a credible plan for moving forward.
Sentenced August 29, 2025. Cooperation, restitution, treatment and other professional contributions were part of the record. No single contributor can be credited with the entire outcome.
Read the case, sources and Joseph’s role →After sentencing: release planning
A release plan, a communication log and continued family contact.
In his September 3, 2025 recommendation, Richard Levitt described Joseph’s planning, coaching for case-manager communication and detailed follow-through. He reported a 20-month sentence and a release expected shortly after just over four months.
The recommendation described a forthcoming milestone. It does not confirm the final date, placement or mechanism, or establish that the court shortened the sentence.
Read the full individual account →Past results do not predict future outcomes. Sentencing comparisons and changes in custody placement are different events. Decisions remain with the responsible court or agency.
Start with the question you are facing.
Preparing for your presentence interview?
Bloomberg Law · December 8, 2025
How to Get a Judge to Reduce Your Client’s White-Collar Sentence
Joseph examines personal narratives, interview preparation and documented actions. For your preparation, the practical question is which records support your account and what work remains before the interview.
Explore PSR preparation →Building a record of accountability?
Law360 · July 14, 2026
A 3-Part Blueprint For Sentencing Variance Arguments
The analysis addresses responsibility, deterrence and post-offense conduct. SAG’s preparation role is to organize your factual chronology and evidence of completed corrective steps.
Explore sentencing preparation →Documenting sustained change?
American Bar Association · Summer 2026
The Mitigation Revolution: A Practical Guide to Engineering Drastic Federal Sentence Reductions
The article connects personal accountability with a continuing record of rehabilitation. Discuss the relevant actions, supporting records and responsibilities in your own preparation plan.
Discuss your preparation →Publication titles are preserved as published. Original publisher access may require a subscription; the publication pages identify available reading options. Publication does not imply endorsement of SAG.
Understand the work before you decide.
A private case review identifies your case stage, next deadline and preparation priorities before you agree to an engagement. The process has three parts: explain your situation, review relevant experience and define the scope, deliverables and timing in writing.
What your engagement can include
Your written scope identifies the deliverables, responsibilities, completion dates, communication arrangements and fees before work begins. The list below describes possible components, not an identical package for every client.
A personal record you can explain and support.
- Record inventory: a chronology and an organized list of personal-history, employment, family, treatment and rehabilitation records relevant to the agreed work.
- Interview preparation: an agenda for the presentence interview, factual gaps to resolve and practice communicating accurately in your own voice.
- Personal statement and supporting material: preparation of your account, character-letter guidance and an indexed set of agreed supporting records.
- Working schedule: priorities, responsibilities and handoff arrangements with your existing professional team.
Practical preparation and a documented plan for returning home.
- Surrender checklist: preparation based on confirmed reporting instructions and the information available about your designation.
- Custody-record review: an inventory of available official records, program questions and unresolved administrative issues.
- Release-planning record: housing, employment, family support and other agreed documentation, with a log of follow-up actions.
- Communication plan: authorized family contacts, agreed updates and clearly defined continuing support.
How SAG fits: Before sentencing, preparation is coordinated with your existing professional team as appropriate. After sentencing, you or an authorized family member can engage SAG directly for practical preparation and release-planning records.
Sentencing Advocacy Group is not a law firm. Legal advice, court filings and legal arguments require a licensed legal professional. Courts and agencies determine sentences, eligibility, credits and placement. Timing and fees depend on the agreed work and your circumstances.
Your situation
Select your stage: before sentencing, awaiting surrender, in custody or preparing for reentry. Share your next deadline and whether you are contacting us as counsel, an individual or a family member.
Relevant experience
Review your priorities with Joseph: PSR and sentencing preparation before judgment; surrender preparation, custody records or release planning after judgment. Identify the relevant documents and next steps.
A defined engagement
Agree on a written scope, deliverables, responsibilities and timing before work begins. Defense counsel retains responsibility for legal advice, filings and courtroom advocacy.