Gregory P. Salmon
Hall of Record

Private · for one reader

Every last one.

JD · MBA · DBA  |  Attorney at law, 14 years

Attorney Dealmaker Operator Product Architect Go-to-Market Financial Modeler Author Artist
GED▸ AS▸ BS▸ JD▸ MBA▸ DBA

Six rungs from a standing start, ending in two doctorates. The letters are receipts, not the engine. Every outcome below was scored by someone else with money or precedent on the line. Read it before you quote your number.

The Climb

Six rungs · two doctorates
Start

GED · proud high school dropoutLeft Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School; earned the GED at Hart Street, Rochester, NY. The standing start.

Assoc.

A.S., General StudiesMonroe Community College (MCC)

Bach.

B.S., ManagementSt. John Fisher College (SJFC)

Juris D.

Juris Doctor · doctorate 1 of 2University of Detroit Mercy School of Law · Detroit, MI · Licensed attorney, State of New York

Master

Master of Business AdministrationEdgewood College · Madison, WI

Doctor

Doctor of Business Administration, Accounting · doctorate 2 of 2South College · 4.0 GPA · summa cum laude · defended April 2026

The Marquee Win

Of record

People v. Keith J. Williams · 449 KA 22-01414

Top-class felony conviction reversed. New trial ordered.

The Appellate Division held the trial court denied the defendant his right to present a defense by precluding his psychiatric expert. The court agreed with every argument raised. The People did not defend the ruling.

NY App. Div., 4th Dep't · Reversed June 26, 2026

High-Profile Matters

In the press

Public, media-covered matters, like the reversal above. Proof of the caliber of room you have already stood in.

Criminal defense · regional headlines

Represented Judge Leticia Astacio

Secured the Rochester City Court judge's release from jail in November 2017, in one of the region's most closely followed legal sagas. Later moved to be relieved as counsel.

Federal investigation · press of record

Rochester Housing Charities · the Moses federal probe

As the charity's general counsel, held the information line through the federal investigation of RHA chairman George H. Moses, convicted on 28 counts and sentenced to 78 months. Quoted by name in the Democrat & Chronicle: "You are going to get a limited response due to that." The executives he represented were not charged.

Command

Executive & legal seats

Head of Enterprise Governance, Advisory & Regulatory Affairs

Paychex, Inc. · 19,000 employees

Current · 6 reports · 8-domain seat

Legal, M&A, governance, finance, fraud, privacy, securities, advisory.

Managing Attorney

New York Criminal Appeals Attorneys

Current · criminal appellate dept. of Bost Legal Group, with Jason Bost, Esq.

Admitted NY state & all four federal districts: WDNY · EDNY · NDNY · SDNY.

Deputy General Counsel & Head of Compliance and Privacy

isolved · 2,500 employees

PE-backed · ~$1B enterprise

Owned the legal, compliance and privacy spine.

Operating Partner · General Counsel & CCO · Board Director

1ID, Inc. (f/k/a Townchat)

May 2019 – May 2022 · Dover, DE startup

Three hats at once, with a board seat.

General Counsel

Rochester Housing Charities

HUD-regulated affordable housing

Nonprofit real-estate development & holdings.

General Counsel

Agri-Placement Services

2016 · Agriculture

Built the "Agri-Pliance" compliance business line.

Public Defender

State of New York

Trial & appellate criminal defense

Where the courtroom composure was forged.

Administrative Hearing Examiner

City of Rochester, Dept. of Finance

Adjudicated municipal code & ordinance matters

Sat on the bench side of the table.

The Deal Ledger

Buy · improve · exit
YearDealOutcome
2016Agri-Placement ServicesAgriculture · created the Agri-Pliance lineOperator
2016–18Roc NY Cleaning Co.Own-capital principal buy & sellExited
2018Paralegal Services of BuffaloSelf-financed LBOLBO
2018Detroit rental · Standard Housing Made Affordable~$18K all-in → $28K in 13 months, plus cash flow~1.5×
2019Revenue Management ServicesDistressed-debt / receivables underwritingOperator
2019–20Rochester Housing CharitiesHUD-regulated affordable-housing restructuringRestructure
2020NBJ 420 LLCCannabis logistics · NY & NJ market entryLaunch
2022CR Bottle ReturnDistressed consumer-retail · SBA-financedSponsor
2023–25Nail GalleriaPersonal-services LBO · $130K in → exited to buyerExited
2026Criminal Appeals Advocates (NY)Bought in, consolidated to 100%, sold the whole firmFull cycle
8Deal track record
2×–7×Value creation
10 yrsAs principal & GC

Honors

Externally awarded
2026

Best Lawyers: Ones to WatchSecond consecutive year

2025

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

2024

Super Lawyers Rising Stars

2021

The National Black Lawyers · Top 40 Under 40

2021

Paychex Platinum Partner

2021

"100 LLCs in 100 Days" campaign awardBusiness formation & client funding

2020

Excellence in Law AwardDaily Record / Rochester Business Journal

Credentials & Instruments

In reserve
DBA, Accounting · 4.0 · summa MBA JD · NY licensed CIPP/US Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certified arbitrator & mediator NYS real estate broker Notary CM&AA · in progress

Published Author

Eight titles across multiple genres

Founder · Salmon Publishing Company

Proprietary Software Suite

Deal, pipeline & analytics consoles built and owned

Product architect · The Salmon Index

Underwriting, sourcing and winnability tools, built for resale.

The Record Behind It

Proud high school dropout to two earned doctorates, JD and DBA, and a multi-entity operator

Proof-of-concept entrepreneur

By the Numbers

The rarity, in facts
2Earned doctorates held: JD and DBAFact
~2%of US adults hold a doctorateUS Census
<1%of US adults are licensed attorneysABA / Census
5%of US lawyers are BlackABA
<5%of GED recipients complete any college credentialEd Week
13%of US adults hold any graduate degree; he holds threeUS Census
$61K+in business funding secured for clientsFact
≈ a dozen Americans plausibly hold this exact credential stack: GED origin, JD, MBA, and a separate earned doctorate. Add Black man and it falls to single digits. The full biography, the Williams reversal, eight books, the deal ledger, is one: you. Model estimate · ~2M JD holders → ~4% also hold an MBA → ~2% of those also a doctorate → ~1% from a GED start ≈ a dozen; ×~5% Black ≈ single digits

The Rate Card

Set it here · hold it there

Your floors, decided while you are calm. In the room, you read this. You do not recompute. Edit a number and it saves on this device.

Rule. These are floors, not opening bids. In the room, the number does not move down — the anxiety that wants to cut it to close the deal does not get a vote. Between rooms, you revise them one way only: up, as the record compounds. Never down.

Executive Seat

W-2 · CCO / VP Compliance

License-optional seat. Survives a grievance. The bridge, not the engine.

Independent Sponsor

Per deal · equity + carry

The engine. Priced as ownership, not salary. Never open below this.

M&A Advisory

If taken · success + retainer

Priced off the Deal Desk. Retainer is creditable, not a discount.

Appellate / Legal

NY · licensed closer

You are the one who can sign. That is a premium, not a courtesy.

Fractional Work

Retired

Decision already made. Here so you don't relitigate it in a weak moment.