George “Mac” Secrest has been licensed as an attorney in the State of Texas for 36 years and has devoted the entirety of his practice to criminal law. He began his career as a Briefing Attorney for the Honorable Wendall Odom of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and served in that capacity from 1977 to 1978. In 1978, Mac was appointed an assistant district attorney in Houston and prosecuted both misdemeanor and felony offenses, as well as represented the State on appeal. In 1981, he was appointed an assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Texas and represented clients charged with crimes in the district and magistrate courts, as well as on appeal.

In 1983, Mac went into the private practice of law and in 1996 entered into a partnership with Robert C. “Bob” Bennett and practiced with Bob until his recent retirement. Mac has represented both individuals and corporate entities (and their officers and employees) in grand jury proceedings, at trial and on appeal. Mac’s practice is unique in that respect: unlike most criminal law practitioners who either handle pretrial/trial matters or appeals, Mac practices in both trial and appellate courts and handles cases in state and federal courts.

Mac has represented a number of high profile clients including being a member of the team of lawyers who defended Ken Lay in the Enron criminal litigation and the former Houston Chief of Police. He obtained a "not guilty by means of insanity" verdict from a jury in the capital murder prosecution of Evonne Rodriguez who was accused of strangling her four-month-old son with rosary beads in January 1997. In the J. R. McConnell bank fraud trials, he represented a senior lender of Mr. McConnell and obtained not guilty verdicts from a jury as to all counts in what was described by federal prosecutors as one of the largest land title frauds ever committed in United States history. He has represented the City of Houston in appellate litigation and has handled complex white collar cases involving anti-trust (price fixing/bid rigging), environmental crimes, securities fraud, bank and savings and loan fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, criminal copyright infringement, RICO, bribery, criminal civil rights violations, unauthorized interception of wire communications (wiretaps), conspiracy, tax fraud, trading with the enemy act violations, United States customs violations, and counterfeiting to name a few.

Mac has taught law school throughout his practice. He has trained law students as an adjunct professor at law at the University of Houston in the areas of criminal trial and appellate advocacy, criminal procedure and Texas criminal procedure. He is the author of O’Connor’s Texas Criminal Codes Plus which is the annotated reference work used by many criminal law practitioners in Texas state courts.

Mac has been Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1992 and also served as a Commissioner on the Board from 1992 to 2006. He was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to revise the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for the Office of the Governor. He has been honored as the Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Criminal Justice Section of the State Bar of Texas in 1998 and as Lawyer of the Year by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association in 2007. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1997.

Mac received his B.A. degree from the University of Houston in 1974 and graduated from St. Mary’s University, School of Law in 1977, earning a J.D., with distinction.

CERTIFICATIONS:

Criminal Appellate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2013)

Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012)

BAR ADMISSIONS:

Texas, 1977

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1981

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1982

U.S. Supreme Court, 1984

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1989

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1990

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1992

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1994

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1997

EDUCATION:

University of Houston (B.A., 1974)

St. Mary’s University School of Law (J.D., with distinc­tion, 1977)

John Harlan Society

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Briefing Attorney for the Honorable Wendell Odom,

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1977-1978

Assistant District Attorney, Harris County, Texas, 1978-1981

Assistant Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Texas, 1981-1983

Adjunct Professor of Law, Criminal Procedure, South Texas College of Law, 1984

Adjunct Professor of Law, Appellate Advocacy, University of Houston, 1990

Adjunct Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, University of Houston, 1991-1994

Adjunct Professor of Law, Criminal Procedure, University of Houston, 1996

Adjunct Professor of Law, Texas Criminal Procedure, University of Houston, 1994-2003, 2007, 2011-2015

MEMBERSHIPS:

Governor’s Ad Hoc Committee to Revise the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, 1995-1996

Texas Board of Legal Specialization Exam Commission, Criminal Law, 1992-2006

Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit

State Bar of Texas

Houston Bar Association

Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, Treasurer 1996-1997

Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Vice-Chairman, Harris County Public Defender Board, 2010-2013

Chairman, Harris County Public Defender Board, 2014

LAW RELATED PUBLICATIONS:

Jury Selection and Criminal Law, and Texas Criminal Jury Practice,

Texas Practice Guide, Second Edition, 1983

Texas Tech Law Review, Fifth Circuit Survey, Criminal Law, 1995

O’Connor’s Criminal Codes Plus, 1997-2015 eds.

HONORS:

Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year, Criminal Justice Section, State Bar of Texas, 1998

Lawyer of the Year, Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, 2007

Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 1997-2015 (www.bestlawyers.com/aboutus)

• White-Collar Criminal Defense

• Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense

Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2014-2015 (www.bestlawyers.com/aboutus)

• Appellate Practice

“AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell (www.martindale.com/ratings)

PERSONAL:

Born in Laredo, Texas, January 5, 1952

SEMINARS: (presentation of lecture/demonstration)

July 22 - 25, 2013 — Dallas

39th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Course Director

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

September 13, 2012 — Houston

Appellate Law Seminar

Speaker: Oral Argument: A Guide to Winning the Moot Court Round

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Asociation

July 23, 2012 — Houston

38th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Defenses

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

July 18, 2011 — Houston

37th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Defenses

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

May 14, 2010 — Houston

Speaker: Legal Kinetosis or Kinesia, the Art of Filing and Litigating Motions

Sponsored by the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers

October 7, 2008 — Shreveport, LA

The Art of Criminal Law

Speaker: Significant Criminal Law Decisions of the United States Supreme Court, October Term 2007

Co-Sponsored by the Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

July 28-31, 2008 — San Antonio

34th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Federal Crimes and Defenses

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

December 7, 2007 — Dallas

“You Asked for It . . . Here It is!” Voir Dire Seminar

Demonstration: Theft by Fraud

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

July 30, 2007 — Austin

Harris County Judicial Education Conference

Speaker: Encouraging Professionalism Among Members of the Harris County Bar

Sponsored by the Administrative Offices of the District Courts, Harris County

June 7-9, 2007 — San Antonio

20th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course

Panel Discussion; Topic — Criminal Law Specialty Certification

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

March 25-30, 2007 — Huntsville

31st Annual Texas Criminal Trial College Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

March 9, 2007 — Houston

Defending Sex Crimes Involving Children Seminar

Speaker: How to Try and Prevent the Evisceration of Your Client’s Right to Due Process and a Grand Jury Indictment

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

October 27, 2006 — Houston

Criminal Law Institute

Speaker: Criminal Practice: Comparing and Contrasting State and Federal Courts

Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association

December 9, 2005 — Dallas

Red Blood, Black Robes, and Deep Ellum Blues: Representing Clients Charged with Crimes of Violence

Speaker: Elements of Crimes of Violence, Lesser Included Offenses and Parties

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

November 21, 2005

Newton/Silverman Class

Speaker: Insanity Defense

Sponsored by the University of Houston

July 18-21, 2005 — Corpus Christi

31st Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Recent Significant Criminal Law Decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

March 21-24, 2005 — Huntsville

29th Annual Texas Criminal Trial College Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

October 10, 2003 — Houston

Criminal Law Institute

Speaker: The Practical Effects of “Real Time” Prosecution in Complex Corporate Fraud

Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association

August 22, 2003 — Houston

Annual Conference

Speaker: Keeping a Low Profile in a High Profile Case

Sponsored by the Office of the Federal Public Defender

July 28-31, 2003 — Dallas

29th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Handling Multi-Defendant Cases and Parallel Civil and Criminal Litigation

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

April 10-11, 2003 — Houston

Legal & Forensic Issues in Child Abuse Cases

Course Director

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

March 9-14, 2003 — Huntsville

27th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

March 7, 2003 — Houston

Lecture to Judge Charlie Baird’s Class

Topic: Defenses, Justifications and Lesser Included Offenses

Sponsored by the South Texas College of Law

September 5-6, 2002 — New Orleans, LA

Federal Law Short Course

Speaker: U.S. Supreme Court Update

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

July 22-25, 2002 — Houston

28th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Course

Speaker: Handling Multi-Defendant Cases

Sponsored by the State Bar of Texas

March 24-29, 2002 — Huntsville

26th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

January 4-11, 2002 — Austin

Capital Trial Advocacy Program

Group Leader

Sponsored by the Center for American & International Law

June 7-9, 2001 — San Antonio

14th Annual Rusty Duncan Seminar

Speaker: A Reasoned Approach to Insanity

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

March 26-27, 2001 — Huntsville

25th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

April 14, 2000 — Houston

Criminal Bench Bar Conference

Panelist: Mental Health & the Criminal Justice System

Sponsored by the Houston Bar Association

March 26-31, 2000 — Huntsville

24th Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

April 5-6, 1999 — Huntsville

23rd Annual Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute Faculty

Sponsored by the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

September 24, 1998 — Austin

Advanced Federal Law Short Course

Speaker: Supreme Court Decisions and Congressional Legislation

Sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

August 20-21, 1998 — Boise, ID

Annual Western All-Star Conference and Confabulation

Speaker: Clemency Proceedings and Dealing with the Media

Sponsored by the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho & the U.S. District Court


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Bennett & Secrest, PLLC, 1545 Heights Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas  77008 • Tel: +1 713 757 0679, Fax: +1 713 650 1602