EDUCATION
University of Texas, B.A. University of Texas School of Law, J.D.
Austin, Texas
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE:
State of Texas U.S. District Courts, various
District of Columbia U.S. Courts of Appeal, various
United States Supreme Court
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Significant Professional Contributions:
Successful exonerations of 4 wrongfully convicted persons now listed in the National Registry of Exonerations. Successful representation of minority elected officials criminally prosecuted by federal authorities.
Government Service:
United States Department of Justice
Criminal Division, Appellate Section
Washington, D.C.
Positions Held: Supervisory Attorney; Litigation Attorney
(Prepared petitions for writs of certiorari and briefs on the merits in the United States Supreme Court for handling by the Office of the Solicitor General; prepared briefs and argued cases in the United States Courts of Appeals; reviewed and edited the work product of other attorneys; provided legal consultation to U.S. Attorney’s offices and to the DOJ Organized Crime Task Forces; provided instruction for the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute on trial advocacy and appellate advocacy and participated in design of original appellate course)
United States Attorney’s Office
Positions Held: First Assistant; Criminal Chief; Deputy Criminal
Chief; Assistant U.S. Attorney
(federal trials, appeals and investigations; supervised other attorneys; office administration)
Private Practice
Firms: Ravkind, Rolfe, and Baccus-Lobel, Dallas; Milner, Lobel, Goranson, Sorrels, Udashen & Wells, Dallas; Lobel Law, Law Office of Shirley Baccus-Lobel, PC (current).
(federal criminal trials, appeals, and investigations; internal corporate investigations; regulatory investigations; state complex crimes)
Select Professional Recognitions:
2020 Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year Award, White Collar Criminal Defense, Dallas/Fort Worth
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Hall of Fame 2016
Named regularly in US News & World Report/Best Lawyers: Best Law Firms, and Best Lawyers for White Collar Criminal Defense and for Bet-the-Company Litigation
Named regularly as a Texas Monthly Super Lawyer, White Collar Criminal Defense
TCDLA’s Percy Foreman Lawyer of the Year, 2011 (shared award)
Martindale-Hubbell, continuous highest ratings for legal ability and ethical standards
Named regularly in Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine
Distinguished Pro Bono Service, Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, 1999
Certificate of Appreciation for Superior Contributions to the Law Enforcement Responsibilities of the United States Secret Service
Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Contributions to Law Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives U.S. Department of Justice.
Select Publications and Contributions to Legal Profession:
State Bar of Texas, Handing Your First (or Next) White Collar Criminal Case, Author and Speaker, Ethical Issues in White Collar Criminal Practice (2019)
Committee Member, Northern District of Texas Merit Selection Committee for Federal Public Defender, 2013, 2000 (recommend candidates to U.S. Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit)
TCDLA Post-Conviction Seminar, Speaker “Federal Appeals (2018)
Federal Practice Seminar, Federal Public Defender, N.D.Tx., Speaker “Cross Examination” (2017)
Advanced Criminal Law Short Course, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; “Discredited Forensic Science” (Author/Speaker) (2017)
Women in White Collar Criminal Defense, Ethics Presentation, Panelist (2017)
“Discredited Forensics,” Austin Criminal Bar, Speaker (2016)
State Bar of Texas 2015 Advanced Criminal Law Course, Asset Forfeiture, Author and Speaker re historical background and development of forfeiture laws (2015)
American Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting, Criminal Justice Section, White Collar Crime Committee, Presentation re Federal Corrupt Practices Act and Corporate Internal Investigations, Moderator (2013)
Committee Member, State Bar of Texas Planning Committee, Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course and Criminal Law 101 (2011/2012)
ABA Roundtable re: Criminal Justice Standards, Defense and Prosecution Standards, University of Oklahoma College of Law (2010)
“Bring a Revolution Home! Trial Skills That Win,” Presentation of “The Fine Art of War: Direct and Cross Demos” (Demonstration, Cross Examination ); NACDL’s Annual Meeting 2009, Boston, Mass.
Speaker and Author, “Basics of Federal Criminal Practice,” TCDLA’s Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course (2009)
“The Federal Grand Jury Process Demystified,” Speaker, Federal Bar Association, Dallas (2007)
“Things the State Practitioner Should Know About Federal Courts,” TCDLA’s 2005 Annual Advanced Criminal Law Short Course (Author/Speaker)
Advanced Criminal Law Short Course, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Course Director; and Author/Speaker, “Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Update” (2004)
Author, “Six Strikes and You’re Safe: The All-White Jury,” American Bar Association, Section of Litigation’s Litigation Magazine; Vol. 30 No. 2 Winter 2004
“The Consequences of Pleading a Case,” State Bar of Texas’ Seminar, White Collar Crime for the Civil Practitioner, 2002 (Author/Speaker)
Author, 52 SMU L. Rev. 881, Criminal Law (Summer 1999)
Author, 51 SMU L. Rev. 855, “Criminal Procedure: Pretrial, Trial and Appeal" Annual Survey of Texas Law (May - June 1998)
TCDLA Federal Law Short Course, “Motions with a Chance - Tailored to Your Case” (Author/Speaker) (2001)
Adjunct Faculty, Southern Methodist University School of Law, Trial Advocacy, Criminal Procedure (1990’s)
“Bankruptcy Fraud,” paper presented to the Dallas Bar Association, the Standing Chapter 13 Trustees, and the Annual Convention of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (Author/Speaker)
“Application of RICO to Oil and Gas”, paper presented to Oil & Gas Section, Dallas Bar (Author/Speaker)
Author, "Federal Appeals and Post-Conviction Remedies," Advanced Criminal Law Course book, State Bar of Texas
Professional Organizations
Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
Charter Fellow, Dallas Bar Foundation
American Bar Association
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association [TCDLA]
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers [NACDL]
Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
Dallas Bar Association
Committee for a Qualified Judiciary
Previous: Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Legal Education Institute, member of the board; Texas Innocence Project, member of the board