Built by defense attorneys, for defense attorneys
Emily and Joey work at the intersection of courtroom advocacy and forensic evidence, representing clients in complex, high-stakes criminal matters while developing deep expertise in the forensic disciplines and emerging technologies that increasingly shape how cases are prosecuted and defended. That experience made one thing clear: litigating forensic evidence effectively demands a level of specialization and continuous scientific engagement that cannot be delegated to testifying experts alone, and is difficult to sustain while balancing the full demands of direct representation. Factor Space Forensics was built to close the gap. FSF brings the highest level of forensic expertise directly to attorneys in the form that serves them best: consulting, litigation support, resource counsel, or co-counsel. FSF also trains attorneys and offices, designs and develops forensic units, and shapes policy and standards at the national level.
Emily J. Prokesch
Founding Partner
Emily Prokesch is a trial lawyer, forensic consultant, and Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches Forensic Evidence. Nationally recognized for her work challenging unreliable forensic disciplines and litigating complex scientific evidence, Emily has spent more than a decade representing clients facing serious criminal charges and leading cutting-edge forensic litigation. Emily served as lead counsel in People v. Ross/A.M., the first admissibility hearing in New York State on firearms and toolmark comparison evidence, which resulted in the exclusion of evidence beyond class characteristics as not generally accepted as reliable by the relevant scientific community.
Throughout her career, Emily has held leadership roles at some of the nation's leading public defense organizations, including serving as Forensic Practice Director at The Bronx Defenders, First Chair Trial Attorney at the Georgia Capital Defender's Office, and Team Leader of the Discovery and Forensic Support Unit at the New York State Defender Association. In these positions, she represented clients in cases ranging from misdemeanors to homicides and capital prosecutions, developed complex litigation strategies, supervised multidisciplinary defense teams, and led systemic challenges to flawed forensic methods and expansive surveillance practices.
In addition to her litigation practice, Emily serves as Chair of the Legal Task Group for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and sits on the Standards Review Panel for the Forensic Science Standards Board. She also teaches Forensic Evidence at Columbia Law School. Her scholarship and commentary have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she is a frequent national lecturer on forensic evidence, scientific reliability, and litigation strategy.
Emily received her J.D., cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was awarded the Archie A. Gorfinkel Award for excellence in criminal law. She earned her B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University where she studied Race and Class in U.S. History and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention. She is admitted to practice in Georgia and New York, in both state and federal courts.
Joseph K. Cavise
Founding Partner
Joey spent more than a decade as a trial lawyer and leading member of the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender's Forensic Science Division, where he developed expertise in challenging the reliability and admissibility of forensic evidence. His experience includes challenging methods, techniques, and conclusions in serology, DNA analysis, statistical reporting, pattern-matching evidence, digital surveillance technology, and more. Litigating dozens of homicides, sex assaults, and other serious cases placed him at the forefront of some of the most consequential forensic litigation in the state. He was part of the team in People v. Winfield — the first firearms and toolmark admissibility hearing in Cook County history — and the ground-breaking litigation against the substandard latent print work by the Chicago Police Department's fingerprint unit.
Joey brings that hard-won, courtroom-tested expertise directly to clients and co-counsel through Factor Space Forensics, understanding not just the “science,” but exactly how it plays out when it matters most.
Joey serves as a member of both the Legal Task Group and Friction Ridge Subcommittee for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He is published in peer-reviewed journals, is a frequent lecturer at the National Forensic College and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and lectures nationally on forensic evidence, scientific reliability, and litigation strategy.
Joey received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, where he received the CALI Award for exceptional work in Advanced Trial Advocacy. He earned his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he studied History and Italian, and received a certificate in European Studies. Joey is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois.
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