Allen Stanford Ponzi Scheme

[scion]

Stanford's public defenders are top of the line

By MARY FLOOD
Sept. 17, 2009, 10:31PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/stanford/6624673.html

R. Allen Stanford's new legal team, though appointed to him as an indigent without available funds, is about as good as money can buy anyway.

Mike Sokolow, the first assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Texas, who is lead lawyer on the case, has previously practiced with two high-dollar civil law firms, argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, has four college degrees and a Harvard research fellowship, and was named outstanding public defender in the nation in 2005.

Kent Schaffer, a private practice criminal defense attorney added to the case Thursday because it's such a complex matter, is a well-known local criminal defense lawyer and frequent lecturer on criminal law who's often sought by public officials and sports and entertainment figures in trouble.

The pair are highly respected in the federal courthouse, though known for wildly different styles.

Sokolow is the kind of straight-arrow guy who usually looks pretty serious, is apt to be formal and isn't likely to gab to the media. Schaffer leans to the informal side and is flamboyant in court and out.

"Both are bright. But they are as different as punk and country music," said Dan Cogdell, the lawyer for a Stanford co-defendant, Laura Pendergest-Holt.

"Kent is mischievous, cunning and very layered. Just when a witness thinks they've ' gotten past' Kent, he will sting them like the scorpion they never saw coming. Sokolow is candid, straightforward and cerebral. Sokolow is your trusted uncle," Cogdell said.

Sokolow would not comment for this story. Schaffer would. "I think this is an exciting opportunity as a lawyer. The public defender's office in Houston is widely regarded as one of the best in the country, and Mike Sokolow is among the best in the office," Schaffer said. He said it's an honor to work on the case, and he plans to work hard.

"We will do an excellent job for Allen. These cases often end up being quite different than the government typically describes them, and we will be spending the next year working to bring to light the truth about what occurred. Hopefully that will result in the acquittal of Allen Stanford," Schaffer said.

Schaffer will receive a set federal rate of $110 an hour.

Overseeing them is Marjorie Meyers, the head of the federal public defender office throughout the Southern District of Texas. Meyers is widely respected, too, and has degrees from two Ivy League schools. She's a frequent lecturer on criminal law.

Stanford faces 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud, bribery and obstruction of justice. He and co-defendants are accused of bilking investors in a $7 billion fraud.

It's possible that Stanford, whose assets are frozen in a civil case, will get funds from an insurance policy and could pay his former criminal defense lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, and new lawyers down the road.

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