Jeff Grant
| Jeff Grant | |
| Born | June 11, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Attorney, minister |
| Known for | Founding the White Collar Support Group and the White Collar Conference |
| Education | SUNY Brockport (B.S.); New York Law School (J.D.); Union Theological Seminary (M.Div.) |
| Website | grantlaw.com |
Jeff Grant (born June 11, 1956) is an American attorney and minister who founded the White Collar Support Group with his wife, Lynn, in 2013, after serving time in federal prison for a white-collar offense.[1][2] The group, which operates under the nonprofit Progressive Prison Ministries, describes itself as the world's first support group devoted to people navigating the white collar justice system; it has served roughly 2,000 members through free, confidential weekly meetings.[3]
Grant leads GrantLaw, a New York firm where he serves as private general counsel to executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and family businesses, and he is widely described as the only attorney in the United States who served time in federal prison for a white-collar crime and returned to white-collar practice.[4][2] He founded and hosts the annual White Collar Conference, an online gathering by and for the white collar justice community.[2][3]
Early life and education
Grant was born on June 11, 1956, in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Science in business and economics from SUNY Brockport in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1981.[1] Decades later he completed a Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, graduating in 2012.[1]
Career
Legal career and conviction
Grant practiced law in New York City and later Westchester County, running a twenty-person firm and serving as general counsel to major real estate firms.[1] His trajectory changed when he developed an addiction to prescription painkillers, which he has described as the catalyst for the criminal conduct that followed.[5] In 2001 he made false statements on a Small Business Administration EIDL loan application; he was convicted of loan fraud and sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison, which he served at USP Allenwood in 2006 and 2007.[1] His law license was reinstated on May 5, 2021, and he returned to practice.[1]
The experience of incarceration proved to be a transformative period. After his release, Grant built a public profile around themes of accountability, recovery, and reform, speaking openly about his conviction, addiction, and imprisonment in profiles including a 2017 Greenwich Time feature and the 2018 Moffly Media profile "The Redemption of Jeff Grant."[6][5]
Ministry and reentry work
After earning his divinity degree, Grant served as an associate minister and director of prison ministries at the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport, Connecticut.[1] From 2016 to 2019 he was executive director of Family ReEntry, a Connecticut-based nonprofit serving people involved with the criminal justice system and their families.[1]
Progressive Prison Ministries and Prisonist.org
Grant founded Progressive Prison Ministries, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that houses his reentry work, offering pre-sentencing consultation, prison preparation, family support during incarceration, and reentry assistance, with a particular focus on white-collar defendants and their families.[4][6] He also founded Prisonist.org, a resource hub publishing articles, commentary, and guidance on sentencing, prison conditions, reentry programs, and criminal justice policy for people facing charges, their families, and professionals in the field.[3]
White Collar Support Group
Grant and his wife, Lynn, founded the White Collar Support Group in 2013.[2][1][3] The group meets every Monday evening by video conference in free, confidential, and anonymous sessions open to people awaiting charges, in prison, or rebuilding after a white-collar case.[3] Its members have included former Stratton Oakmont executive Richard Bronson and attorney Gordon Caplan, and the group has participated in a Yale School of Management research study on professional and personal restoration after white-collar convictions; it also advocates federal expungement reform and banking rights for people with felony records.[1] On January 19, 2026, the group held its 500th consecutive weekly meeting, a milestone announced as reflecting "a decade of community, support and expanding national advocacy initiatives."[7]
GrantLaw
Grant is the founder and principal of GrantLaw, PLLC, a New York City law firm positioning itself as private general counsel for high-stakes matters.[4] The firm handles government investigations, business disputes, internal crises, regulatory matters, and transactions, and Grant also advises white-collar defendants on pre- and post-indictment strategy.[4] His work and personal story have been featured by outlets including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.[3][4]
White Collar Conference
Grant founded and hosts the White Collar Conference, first held online in 2024 and described as the world's only annual conference by and for the white collar justice community.[1][3] The 2026 edition, held virtually on October 10, 2026 under the theme "Ending the White Collar Life Sentence," featured former Bureau of Prisons Deputy Director Joshua J. Smith as keynote speaker, trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs in a fireside chat, and panels on rebuilding careers after justice-system involvement.[2]
Personal life
Grant has been open about his addiction to prescription painkillers and its role in his offense, making that candor a central element of his advocacy.[5][6] He has lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is now based in the West Palm Beach, Florida, area, where the White Collar Support Group's operations are headquartered.[6][7]
Related biographies
- Pamela Winn — Criminal Justice Reform Advocate
- Tanya Pierce — Founder of Life Unbolted
- Chris Coons — Politician
- Jeff Wertkin — Compliance Executive & Reentry Leader
- Dickie Scruggs — Trial Lawyer & Second-Chance Advocate
- Jeffrey Abramowitz — Nonprofit Executive
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Jeff Grant (attorney)". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "White Collar Conference 2026". White Collar Support Group. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Prisonist.org — White Collar Support Group". Progressive Prison Ministries. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "GrantLaw, PLLC". GrantLaw. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "The Redemption of Jeff Grant". Moffly Media. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Greenwich white collar criminal shares journey back to the board room". Greenwich Time. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "White Collar Support Group to Hold Historic 500th Weekly Meeting, Mon., Jan. 19, 2026". PRWeb. 2026-01-19. Retrieved 2026-03-11.