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As Andrew and Tristan Tate fight extradition from a federal jail in Miami, the influencer brothers have added one of South Florida’s most formidable and familiar criminal-defense firms to their legal team.
Joseph McBride, a bald-bearded attorney for the brothers clad in a grey suit and blue tie and resembling a villainous Pitbull, announced after their first federal court appearance Monday that lawyers from Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf had joined the case. The boutique Miami firm, commonly known as Black Srebnick, was founded by the late celebrity defense attorney Roy Black and previously represented convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“We’ve assembled a team here,” he told reporters outside the courtroom. “These are from Roy Black’s prestigious firm — the honorable and since passed Roy Black — he’s a legend, and they’re here; they have joined our team. We have a competent team, we have a wonderful team. We’re looking forward to getting the best possible results under the sun.”
The firm’s arrival adds serious federal firepower to the Tates’ defense as British authorities seek to return them to the United Kingdom to face dozens of criminal charges, including rape, sexual assault, human trafficking and offenses involving indecent images of a child. The brothers deny the allegations and have characterized the cases against them as politically motivated.
Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 38, were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Miami on Saturday, July 18. They appeared in shackles Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis and indicated that they would contest extradition. They remain in federal custody ahead of another hearing scheduled for July 27.
McBride has been the brothers’ most visible American attorney, speaking outside the courthouse and denouncing the British prosecution as a “political” attack. It was not immediately clear which Black Srebnick attorneys would personally handle the case or whether the firm would represent both brothers throughout the extradition proceedings.
Black Srebnick did not immediately respond to New Times’ request for comment via phone or web contact form.
The firm’s involvement is notable not merely because of its roster of celebrity clients, but because of its central role in one of the most notorious sex-crimes cases in South Florida history.
Black represented Epstein during the federal investigation that culminated in the financier’s controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. Rather than face federal charges, Epstein pleaded guilty the following year in Palm Beach County to state prostitution-related offenses, including procuring a minor for prostitution.
Epstein received an 18-month jail sentence and ultimately served about 13 months, much of it under an unusually permissive work-release arrangement that allowed him to spend most days at an office outside the jail.
Black was part of an elite defense team that also included Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr, Jay Lefkowitz and Gerald Lefcourt. Together, Epstein’s attorneys pressed federal prosecutors for the agreement that protected Epstein and unnamed potential co-conspirators from federal prosecution in South Florida.
A later Justice Department review concluded that then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in resolving the investigation through the agreement and in failing to ensure that Epstein’s victims were properly notified. The department stopped short of finding professional misconduct.
Black and other Epstein attorneys later fought efforts to disclose communications surrounding the deal, arguing that releasing confidential plea negotiations would undermine the criminal justice system.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Black, who died in July 2025 at age 80, was among the country’s most prominent criminal-defense attorneys. He rose to national fame after winning an acquittal for William Kennedy Smith in a televised 1991 rape trial and later represented clients including Justin Bieber, Rush Limbaugh and race-car driver Hélio Castroneves. The firm itself continued to advertise Black’s work for Epstein among his notable cases.
Today, the practice is centered around veteran federal defense attorney Howard Srebnick, who has handled high-profile tax, money-laundering and public-corruption cases and argued constitutional questions involving criminal defendants’ access to legal fees before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Srebnick also represented Cocaine Cowboy Gustavo Falcon, who spent 26 years as a fugitive before he was captured in 2017. During Falcon’s sentencing, Srebnick portrayed him as a reformed family man who had spent decades living under the pressure of being hunted.
The Tates’ extradition battle presents a different kind of challenge.
An extradition hearing is not a criminal trial deciding guilt or innocence. A federal judge will instead consider whether the request complies with the extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom and whether British authorities have presented sufficient evidence to certify the brothers for extradition. The ultimate decision on whether to surrender them rests with the U.S. Secretary of State.
The brothers face 59 charges in the United Kingdom, according to court reporting and British authorities. Andrew Tate faces accusations that include rape, assault, trafficking for sexual exploitation and offenses involving indecent images of a child and extreme pornography. Tristan Tate faces charges including rape, sexual assault and trafficking. The alleged conduct spans from 2010 to 2017.
Both men have denied wrongdoing.
The brothers also face continuing legal problems in Romania, where they have been accused of human trafficking and other crimes, as well as civil litigation from women who accuse Andrew Tate of rape and abuse. The brothers have repeatedly argued that their accusers and governments are conspiring against them.
Black Srebnick’s precise strategy has not yet emerged publicly. No attorney from the firm spoke during Monday’s brief hearing, and publicly available reports did not identify which lawyers had entered formal appearances.
But the firm’s hiring signals that the Tates are preparing for a prolonged legal fight — one likely to move from a Miami courtroom to the federal appeals court and potentially beyond.
