Samy Khalil

A reputation for being conscientious, detail-oriented, and client-centered.

Samy is known for his ability to investigate and discover information that oftentimes goes unearthed.  His doggedness and determination were honed at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, where he worked early in his career to defend individuals against prosecutions charging virtually every violation under the Federal Criminal Code.

Samy now brings that same attitude and versatility to representing white-collar individuals and businesses that find themselves interacting with the government. In a nutshell, Samy helps those who need it – not because they are necessarily “guilty” – but because the government has suddenly become a part of their lives. This is true whether an individual receives an unexpected “target letter,” or a company is served with a federal grand jury subpoena demanding its business records. Whether on behalf of an individual or a company, Samy’s approach remains the same: provide top-flight, individualized, and creative legal services to solve the client’s problem.

 
 
 

“He’s extraordinarily good at dealing with prosecutors and also a good courtroom lawyer who gets a ton of respect from the Bench.”

— Chambers & Partners

 

“Samy is a highly experienced, patient and strategic thinker with a very calm demeanor.”

— Chambers & Partners

Awards

Samy has been recognized:

  • In “Chambers & Partners”

    • “Band 2” for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2023)

    • “Band 3” for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2020-2022)

    • “Up and Coming” for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2018)

  • As a “Super Lawyer” (2017-2023) and “Rising Star” (2013-2014) in White-Collar Criminal Defense

  • In “Best Lawyers in America” for White-Collar Criminal Defense (2016-2021)

He is:

  • A member of the Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

  • A Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation

  • A board member of the Texas Defender Service

He was:

  • Selected by a Fifth Circuit Judge to serve on the Federal Public Defender Appointment Committee for the Southern District of Texas (2019-2020)

  • Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Houston Bar Association (2018)

  • Appointed by the Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas to chair the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel (2017)

Representative Experience

Government & Corporate Investigations

  • Successful defense of businessman in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by DOJ concerning transactions in the Middle East..

  • Representation of healthcare executive in False Claims Act case with parallel criminal litigation.

  • Representation of employee in criminal antitrust investigation by DOJ into Houston-based accessories company.

  • Internal investigation of discrimination claims on behalf of national home-improvement company accused of violations by EEOC.

Federal Charges & Trials

  • Defense of client charged with fraud and money laundering in the construction of a downtown Houston hotel.

    • Persuaded the government that there was not sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. The government ultimately filed a motion to dismiss the indictment before trial, and the court granted the motion.

  • Represented client charged with $36 million fraud involving the theft of natural gas liquids in the San Juan Basin from oil & gas producers.

    • The federal court in Dallas sentenced client to 10 months in prison, even though the federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of nearly 20 years in prison.

  • In SEC civil action, successful defense of oil-drilling executive charged with violating the Federal Corrupt Practices Act in Nigeria.

  • Defense of former General Counsel / Chief Financial Officer of energy company in parallel SEC and DOJ investigations.  Client also named as an individual defendant in a federal shareholder-derivative lawsuit in Delaware and a class-action suit in the Southern District of Texas.

    • The federal court in New York imposed a 12-month sentence, even though the federal sentencing guidelines called for 8 to 10 years in prison.

  • Defense of the “IFCO” immigration-hiring case, resulting in DOJ‘s dismissal of all felony charges against the company‘s Vice President for Human Resources.

  • Represented long-time bank officer at JP Morgan Chase accused of bank and wire fraud.

    • The federal court in Houston sentenced client to probation, even though the federal sentencing guidelines called for 4 to 5 years in prison.

  • Won dismissal of federal money laundering charges involving transactions with Mexico based on statute-of-limitations violation.

  • Federal acquittal at trial of passenger charged with assaulting a flight attendant.

Compassionate Release & Federal Writs

  • Rob Will case:  Federal and state habeas appeal of Texas death-penalty case. Samy has been working on the case for more than a decade. He has uncovered hidden evidence and is litigating for a new trial. The US Court of Appeals authorized the filing of a seldom achieved “second or successive” federal habeas petition raising claims of prosecutorial misconduct by the State of Texas. See In re Will, 970 F.3d 536 (5th Cir. 2020).

  • Charlton Esekhigbe Presidential Pardon – reducing a 20-year sentence to time served.

  • Won “compassionate release” for federal inmate sentenced 16 years earlier to life imprisonment for drug trafficking, based on change in mandatory minimum laws under First Step Act of 2018.

  • Won reduction in sentence to “time served” for a doctor who had only served 3 years of his 12-year sentence, after convincing the court that the client was particularly susceptible to Covid-19 based on his advanced age and underlying medical conditions.

Career Evolution

After law school, Samy worked at the Fair Trial Initiative, where he focused on death penalty litigation in North Carolina. He then returned to his hometown of Houston and worked for seven years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Texas. In 2010 Samy went into private practice, joining the firm of GERGER & CLARKE and later the prestigious international law firm of QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN LLP. Before launching his own office, Samy worked as a partner at HUGHES ARRELL KINCHEN LLP and GERGER KHALIL HENNESSY & MCFARLANE LLP.

 

Education

University of Texas School of Law
JD, 2002 (Member, Texas Law Review)

University of Chicago
MA, International Relations, with honors, 1999

Middlebury College
BA, Political Science, with honors, 1996

Presentations & Publications

  • Samy has given presentations on white-collar crime, particular federal offenses, and various aspects of federal sentencing.

  • In May 2021, he moderated a panel on “Federal Discovery” with two federal magistrate judges.

  • He served on the Federal Bench Bar Committee, which organizes the bi-annual bench-bar conference in the Southern District of Texas (2019).

  • He presented on the US Dept. of Justice’s “Yates Memo” at the National Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers’ “White-Collar Conference” (2016).

  • He published “Doing the Impossible: Appellate Reweighing of Harm and Mitigation in Capital Cases After Williams v. Taylor, With a Special Focus on Texas,” Texas Law Review (2001).