Reflecting on Accomplishments in 2024
February 2025
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As we enter 2025, we are reflecting on the year gone by. For our firm, 2024 was another eventful year, and we were proud to secure excellent results for our clients. Below, we share a few of our 2024 highlights.
I. Addition of Team Member
Renata Savage joined our firm as a legal assistant. She has been a wonderful addition to our team, and we are grateful to work with her. Renata is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio. She plans to attend law school and is currently studying for the LSAT.
II. Resolution of FCPA Case
After three years of litigation, we were able to bring a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case to a successful resolution in May 2024. For years, we had successfully challenged the prosecution in the district court, twice persuading the court to dismiss all charges against our client, who had been charged in 2019 and extradited to the United States in 2021. The Fifth Circuit reversed the first dismissal in 2023, but it affirmed the second dismissal at the beginning of 2024.
In the second appeal, the Fifth Circuit agreed with our arguments and the ruling of the district court: our client’s right to a speedy trial had been violated, so dismissal was appropriate.[1] The case was nevertheless remanded to the district court for a determination of whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice.
Once back in the district court, we successfully negotiated a reduced plea and settlement, which allowed our client to return home to Portugal.[2]
III. Resolution of Securities Fraud Case
In February, we resolved another long-running case. Our client, a former General Counsel and CFO of an energy exploration company, had pled guilty in the Southern District of New York to charges including securities fraud, wire fraud, and obstructing an SEC investigation. Based on those pleas, he faced Sentencing Guidelines that recommended a prison sentence between 97 and 121 months. Through a lengthy sentencing memorandum, support letters, and our oral advocacy at the sentencing hearing, we were able to persuade the court to impose a far lower sentence—12 months and 1 day.
IV. Full Dismissal of Federal Drug Distribution Charges
In March, we secured a full dismissal of federal charges for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. In late 2023, we filed motions to suppress evidence illegally seized at the client’s traffic stop and statements he made after the police stopped him. At an evidentiary hearing on those motions, we demonstrated that the police officer’s description of events was incorrect and factually impossible. Following the hearing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office decided to dismiss the charges instead of waiting for the court to rule on our suppression motions.
V. Quashed Subpoena for Testimony
In September, we persuaded a federal court in the Southern District of California to quash a trial subpoena issued to one of our clients, so our client—a medical doctor in Houston—was never required to testify in court.
After a civil plaintiff subpoenaed our client to testify by video, we quickly identified binding precedent from the Ninth Circuit that prohibited such a subpoena. Under the normal rules of civil procedure, a non-party witness typically cannot be subpoenaed to testify more than 100 miles from where he resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person. We identified a Ninth Circuit case holding that those limitations applied even to a subpoena that called for video testimony. “Despite changes in technology …, the rule governing [a] court’s subpoena power has not changed.”[3] In light of that precedent, the court agreed that our client could not be subpoenaed to provide testimony in California, even by video.
VI. Money Laundering Conviction Vacated on Appeal
In December, the Fifth Circuit vacated another client’s conviction for international money laundering.[4] We began representing this client after he had been convicted at trial, and we argued on appeal that his money-laundering conviction was not based on sufficient evidence.
After reviewing our brief to the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed that the conviction should be vacated, even though months earlier it had prosecuted the case and asked the jury to convict the defendant on the money-laundering charge. The Fifth Circuit found the evidence insufficient and vacated the conviction.
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As we move into 2025, we look forward to continuing to provide first-rate representation to each of our clients, whether they are witnesses, individual defendants, or businesses.
[1] United States v. Murta, No. 23-20276 (5th Cir. Jan. 5, 2024) (unpublished), available at https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/23/23-20276.1.pdf.
[2] More information about this case and the sentencing process can be found here: https://fcpaprofessor.com/mr-murta-decided-not-fight-longer/.
[3] In re Kirkland, 75 F.4th 1030, 1051–52 (9th Cir. 2023).
[4] United States v. Campos-Espinosa, No. 23-40156 (5th Cir. Dec. 6, 2024) (unpublished), available at https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/23/23-40156.0.pdf.
KHALIL & LAKE is a white-collar litigation boutique focusing on federal criminal law, appeals, and complex investigations in a variety of business sectors. If you have any questions about these issues, or if you would like a copy of any materials mentioned here, please let us know.