Jennifer S. Freel

In Private Practice

• (Tex. Dist. Court) Represented seventeen individuals–including board members, former board members, senior staff, and former senior staff–who were sued in their individual capacities based on actions of their company. A state court dismissed the individuals pursuant to Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute
• Assisted tech company with internal investigation after departing employees made complaints regarding unethical conduct and a hostile work environment
• Led internal investigation for investment fund after a complaint was left on the whistleblower hotline that suggested unethical and fraudulent conduct
• Assisted asset manager in responding to allegations of employee theft, including managing communications with affected investors
• Coordinated media company’s response to data breach, including handling communications with federal authorities
• (Florida DFS) Represented company accused of violating state insurance regulations and conducted a compliance audit to identify why the problems occurred
• (W.D. Tex.) Represented a trade association in an Administrative Procedures Act case. The court granted a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, before the case was mooted by government action beneficial to the trade association
• (Tex. App. – Austin) Obtained denial of petition for writ of mandamus, when petitioner challenged district court’s refusal to stay the case pending resolution of similar litigation outside the State of Texas
• (U.S. Supreme Court) Filed Amicus Curiae in support of death row inmate’s request to have his pastor audibly pray during the execution
• (5th Cir.) Represented woman accused of tax fraud, with the Court finding the district court committed error by not admitting certain undercover recordings
• Counseled company after third party accused it of violating federal criminal law during certain activities with the United States Army Corps of Engineers
• Represented individual under criminal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security in a matter concerning allegations of procurement fraud
• Conducted due diligence for multiple clients prior to acquisitions on topics including anti-money laundering, FCPA, and pending/threatened litigation
• Advised multiple companies on responses to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act and the Texas Public Information Act
• Represented multiple individuals and companies who have received government subpoenas or requests for interviews, assisting them with best methods for responding and gathering information

As a Federal Prosecutor

• (W.D. Tex.) Represented the United States in prosecution of a sophisticated money laundering scheme whereby the defendants cleaned drug money by buying, breeding, training, and racing quarter horses; handled forfeiture matters, including the interlocutory sale of 452 quarter horses for approximately $8.9 million; worked with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to freeze more than $20 million in assets; received the I.R.S. Excellence Award
• (W.D. Tex.) Served as trial counsel in the prosecution of a defendant accused of running a Ponzi scheme that targeted NFL players and members of the Mormon Church; the defendant was found guilty of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering; received the DeAtley Award for Complex or Significant Trial by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas
• (W.D. Tex.) Served as trial counsel in case involving a firearms smuggling ring and a money laundering conspiracy; obtained guilty verdicts on 47 separate counts
• (W.D. Tex.) Served as lead prosecutor in case involving a scheme to defraud the federal government of financial aid funds; coordinated the pre-indictment investigation; indicted the case and negotiated a guilty plea
• (5th Cir.) Represented the United States on appeal, after a jury convicted a licensed pharmacist of health care fraud; the defendant alleged a Speedy Trial Act violation and challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, certain evidentiary rulings, the restitution order, and the forfeiture of specific assets; the Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction
• (5th Cir.) Represented the United States on appeal of conviction for mail fraud; the Fifth Circuit affirmed the defendant’s conviction, sentence, and a $10 million restitution order
• (5th Cir.) Represented the United States on appeal of a district court’s refusal to modify a protective order; prior to this case, the Fifth Circuit had never articulated a test for determining when courts should modify criminal protective orders; the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling
• (5th Cir.) Represented the United States on two appeals concerning $2 million money judgments entered after the defendants pled guilty to participating in drug and money laundering conspiracies; prevailed in both cases

• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2021-2022
  • Ranked for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations – Texas
• The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.), Criminal Defense: White-Collar (Austin), 2022
• Recognized in the area of Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense, The Legal 500: United States, 2019
• Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation, 2016
• IRS Excellence Award, IRS Chief of Criminal Investigations, 2014
• DeAtley Award for Complex or Significant Trial, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, 2011

• Co-Author, “Help! The Government Seized My Privileged Documents! What a Recent Fifth Circuit Case Says About How to Respond” (September 2021)
• Co-Author, “A Win for Insureds: Fifth Circuit Finds Duty-to-Defend Data Breach Suit under Personal and Advertising Injury Clause in CGL Policy” (July 2021)
• Co-Author, “Insider Trading Update: Recent Developments and Compliance Risks” (June 2021)
• Co-Author, “Business School Ranking Scandal Tests the Scope of Federal Fraud Statutes” (June 2021)
• Co-Author, “Hacking the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: The Supreme Court Narrows the Reach of the CFAA’s “Exceeds Authorized Access” Provision” (June 2021)