Practice Areas
Arguing appeals makes you a better trial lawyer; trying cases makes you a better appellate lawyer; and doing both makes you a better investigator.
Investigations
Handling a sensitive investigation requires judgment, experience, and skill. We have extensive experience in complex investigations by state and federal enforcement and regulatory agencies including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and many others. And clients often come to us to perform an internal investigation before any agency is involved or after having been served a subpoena or experiencing a search. Our work has covered health care, securities, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, environmental issues, tax, banking, price fixing, trade sanctions, money laundering, public contracts/corruption, fraud, immigration, energy/commodities trading, sexual harassment or assault and other areas. We are often successful in achieving quiet victories—avoiding charges or reaching resolutions before public exposure.
Trials
While the best victory is avoiding charges… we are trial lawyers known for our courtroom results, handling federal and state litigation from the investigation stage through trial and post-trial proceedings. Often, we are called upon to parachute into ongoing litigation to assist or substitute for other counsel, particularly in complex white-collar crime cases in federal court. Recent courtroom wins have come in the areas of health care, Clean Water Act, price fixing, immigration, commodities manipulation, money laundering, fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, trade sanctions, and seaman’s and reckless manslaughter…and even one of the largest will contests in Texas history.
Appeals
Our Firm handles high-stakes cases in federal courts of appeals and state appellate courts throughout the country. Clients as well as other lawyers often turn to our team of attorneys to handle complex legal questions and novel issues on appeal. Those appeals cover a myriad of subject areas from antitrust to securities.
Criminal Law Matters
A criminal prosecution is a life changing event, often unfairly so. Our lawyers have defended and prosecuted hundreds of federal and state criminal cases for companies and individuals throughout Texas and the nation. David served as federal public defender; Ashlee as a federal prosecutor; Matt with the legendary Dick DeGuerin; and Jon was an investigator with the City of New York and Kroll before law school. We have been successful in avoiding criminal charges in many criminal matters ranging from environmental to FCPA to price fixing. But we are also known for courtroom victories both at trial and on appeal, including acquittals and dismissals involving price fixing, commodities manipulation, immigration, health care, trade sanctions, environmental violations (including RCRA Clean Water Act, Endangerment, Seaman’s Manslaughter, Involuntary Manslaughter), money laundering, fraud, conspiracy, public corruption, government contracts and many others.
