More Than 65 Years of Distinguished Criminal Defense Experience

Barry D. Sheppard

Managing partner Barry D. Sheppard began his legal career in 1976 as a public defender, where he obtained valuable trial experience and developed a penchant for taking on tough cases. He has earned distinction by handling cases that require the most zealous, sophisticated and aggressive representation. He has also stayed at the forefront of criminal defense issues, including advancements in DNA technology and cutting-edge search and seizure issues.

Mr. Sheppard has appeared in courts throughout the country on cases which have received national attention. He has been selected as a “Leading Lawyer” in the areas of white collar criminal defense, felonies and misdemeanors, as published by Leading Lawyer magazine and re-published by Chicago Lawyer. SeeLeading Lawyer Profile. Similarly, Super Lawyer magazine named him as a “Super Lawyer.” See Top Rated Chicago, IL Criminal Defense Attorney | Barry Sheppard | Super Lawyers He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The legal committee for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Decalogue Society of Lawyers (Judicial Evaluation Committee).

Adam J. Sheppard

Adam J. Sheppard is an aggressive advocate for criminal and Title IX defendants, and a frequent contributor to publications in the area of criminal law. He has published over 20 articles in different respected legal periodicals and magazines, many of which appear on Westlaw. Adam Sheppard has repeatedly lectured at Chicago-Kent College of Law on Federal Sentencing. He was elected by a distinguished nominating committee, comprised of leaders in the bar association — judges, government attorneys, private practitioners, arbitrators — to serve on the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association, see CBA Board of Managers Notification. He was also elected to the Board of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2022 and to the board of the North Suburban Bar Association in 2023, on which he serves with distinguished judges and attorneys. Super Lawyer magazine has repeatedly named Adam Sheppard as a Super Lawyer in the areas of White Collar Crime and Criminal Defense. Since 2012, the magazine has continually recognized Adam Sheppard. See Top Rated Chicago, IL White Collar Crimes Attorney | Adam Sheppard | Super Lawyers. He served on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association; he was also Legislative Liaison for the Chicago Bar Association Trial Practice Committee helping to propose and draft CBA-supported legislation for consideration by the Illinois House & Senate. He was Vice Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Litigation Committee. He has served for over a decade on the Chicago Bar Association’s Editorial Board. He has served for over a decade on the Decalogue Society Board of Managers. He is a former co-editor-in-chief of the Young Lawyers Journal of the CBA Record and current editorial board member of the CBA Record as well as a published author in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, he is a recognized contributor to academic writing in the area of criminal defense. He had also served on the editorial board of the American Bar Association’s Young Advocates Committee. Adam Sheppard was also recently elected to Vice Chair of Membership for the Lighthouse for the Blind, junior board.

He serves as a Federal Defender Panel Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, whereby federal judges appoint him to represent federal defendants under the Criminal Justice Act. Adam Sheppard has lectured to law school classes, including at Chicago-Kent College of Law on federal sentencing. Adam is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a member of the Federal Bar Association, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Illinois State Bar Association, the legal committee of NORML.

Ajay Gupta (Of Counsel)

Ajay Gupta is a former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, where he prosecuted white-collar and violent crimes. He is also a former Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, D.C., where he advised on tax shelter litigation. As Adjunct Professor of Law at DePaul, Chicago-Kent, and U. of Houston law schools, he teaches criminal and civil tax litigation courses. Many of his publications have been cited in court opinions, journals, and treatises.

He received a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics; an LLM in Taxation from NYU, where he held a Dean’s Scholarship; an MBA in Finance from Yale; and an AM in Economics from Stanford.

Professor Gupta is a criminal defense and tax litigation attorney with extensive private practice, government, and adjunct teaching experience. At large and small law firms in California, he managed complex business litigation at trial and appeal stages.

He is admitted in California and Florida, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Adam Brown (Of Counsel)

Adam Brown is a former Assistant State’s Attorney in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office. While there, he gained extensive experience prosecuting a variety of areas of Illinois criminal law, including in sex crimes, domestic battery, felony drug and gun cases, and DUI cases.

Mr. Brown has presented lectures to prosecutors on the admission of electronic evidence. In 2018, The Chicago Bar Association selected him to present his lecture on electronic evidence to the Chicago Bar Association’s Trial Committee.

Mr. Brown is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a member of the Jefferson Inns of Court, and member of the Lake County, Chicago, and Northwest Suburban Bar Associations.

To learn more about either attorney, click on the respective link below.

• Barry D. Sheppard
• Adam J. Sheppard
• Ajay Gupta (Of Counsel)
• Adam Brown (Of Counsel)

Contact Sheppard Law Firm, P.C.

For a confidential consultation to discuss your criminal defense needs, contact the firm’s Chicago Loop office: Use the online contact form or call 312-443-1233.