Most Highly Regarded Firms: Texas 2008 - Business Crime Defence
This chapter recognises the exceptional talent of 16 white-collar criminal defence practitioners, who are the leaders of what is a very strong State Bar.
The United States Department of Justice is a breeding ground for leading business crime lawyers: many of the individuals listed here served as US attorney or assistant attorney before entering private practice. A number of lawyers from boutique white-collar defence firms appear, highlighting the presence that specialised outfits have within the market.
Zimmermann Lavine Zimmermann & Sampson PC is "well respected for criminal defence" work and two of its lawyers appear on the following pages. The "outstanding" Jim Lavine is a former prosecutor who served in Chicago and in Houston for 11 years. Lavine is also a former director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and received the Robert C Heeney Award in 2007, presented by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is joined in this edition by partner Jack Zimmermann, a former prosecutor and criminal trial judge in the United States Marine Corps. He is the co-chairman of the Military Law section of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Meadows Collier Reed Cousins & Blau LLP is another firm with more than one attorney listed in this publication. The firm's practice was rooted in tax litigation and tax planning and has since expanded to include white-collar defence as a core practice area. Charles Meadows is a certified public accountant and a "stand-out practitioner" in this field. He was praised by one source as "the cream of the crop". Charles Blau, also from the Dallas office, is a former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. In 1980, he was appointed to head a Federal Money Laundering Task Force in Miami, Florida and in 1983 he became a section chief at the Department of Justice. In 1985, Blau became the deputy associate attorney general of the United States, and a year later was appointed associate deputy attorney general of the United States.
Haynes and Boone LLP also boasts two individuals in this chapter. Barry McNeil is an experienced trial lawyer, serving with the Department of Justice prior to entering private practice. He has a "fantastic reputation" in the criminal antitrust arena and in white-collar work in general. McNeil's partner Lawrence Finder also has a government background, serving as US attorney for the Southern District of Texas. He has significant experience advising clients in government investigations as well as at trial.
Berg & Androphy is a "highly regarded" litigation boutique and both name partners appear on the following pages. David Berg is "experienced" and was co-lead trial counsel for Deutsche Bank in the Enron class action. Competitors describe Berg as "worthy of his reputation". Also "very well thought of" is partner Joel Androphy, who recently successfully defended an international maritime company from environmental criminal charges.
Rusty Hardin, founder of Rusty Hardin & Associates PC, is one of the most highly nominated individuals in this chapter. The firm is no stranger to high-profile matters: Hardin and his team have represented Arthur Andersen since November 2001 in over a hundred lawsuits arising out of the collapse of Enron. Hardin spent over 15 years as assistant district attorney in Houston, never losing a felony jury trial and is "absolutely great", according to one source.
Robert Sussman performed well in the research and practises with Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP. Prior to private practice Sussman served as assistant district attorney for Harris County and was chief of the Consumer Fraud Section in his final year. He writes frequently on the subject of economic crime.
Sole practitioner Ronald Woods is another leading light and was described by one source as "the best of the best". He was appointed United States attorney for the Southern District of Texas by President George Bush Sr in 1990. Woods was also a special agent and legal adviser in the FBI as well as a state and federal prosecutor in Houston. He is well versed in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Dan Cogdell formed the Cogdell Law Firm after serving as briefing attorney at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for Judge John F Onion Jr and having practised with Haynes & Fullenweider. Cogdell is "a true leader". He represented Sheila Kahanek, the former Enron accountant acquitted of fraud and conspiracy charges in 2004.
David Gerger is well known for his defence of the former CFO of Enron, Andy Fastow, throughout his criminal case. He founded David Gerger & Associates after serving as an assistant federal public defender, among other roles in both the public and private sector. Gerger also worked on the appeal in United States v Olis (winning a new sentencing hearing in the "Dynegy Project Alpha" securities fraud case).
Bennett & Secrest LLP's George McCall Secrest, who is another attorney to have worked on the Enron case (acting for Kenneth Lay, the company's former chairman and chief executive), also appears on our list. Secrest served as an assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Texas and as an assistant district attorney for Harris County, Texas and is an adjunct professor at the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston.
White-collar crime is one of 40 practice areas handled by Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. Thomas Hagemann leads the firm's white-collar crime group in Houston and Dallas. Hagemann is a former assistant US attorney and was nominated for the attorney general's highest award for trial lawyers for his work during his tenure in Los Angeles. His broad white-collar practice gained a great deal of praise and he was in the top tier of our research.
Fish & Richardson PC is well known for its IP practice, however Paul Coggins from the Dallas office helps to raise the profile of the firm's white-collar defence and government investigations group. Coggins was US attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1993 to 2001 and since joining private practice has represented a number of Fortune 500 corporations and public agencies before federal courts and the SEC.