Joel E. Abelove, Esq., serves as the Executive Vice President of General Council for SPEAR. He provides in-house general counsel for SPEAR and its executives. Joel oversees and identifies legal issues in all departments and their interrelation, as well as corporate governance and business policy.

 

Joel is an attorney with ABELOVE LAW, P.C., specializing in criminal defense and Second Amendment issues.  Prior to opening his private practice in 2019, Joel served as the Rensselaer County District Attorney for four years.  He also served as an Assistant District Attorney, Bureau Chief and Chief Assistant District Attorney, for ten years.  Joel also served as a prosecutor for nine years at the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct, where he administratively prosecuted cases of physician misconduct. 

 

Joel is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, having served over 20 years in the New York Army National Guard, both in the Military Police Corps, and the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.  In 2008, Joel deployed to Afghanistan as a trial counsel with the 27th Brigade Combat Team, as part of Task Force Phoenix VII.  Joel received his Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Tufts University, and his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School.

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