Dallas lawyer Rachel Riley is an up-and-comer in the white-collar criminal defense bar.
The Katten associate, working alongside partner Brandon McCarthy, is currently appealing the public-corruption conviction of a self-made billionaire.
She and McCarthy are also still litigating a healthcare-fraud matter in which they recently obtained not-guilty verdicts for their client, a Mississippi doctor, on seven of eight fraud charges.
Her work has not gone unnoticed. Last year Dallas office managing partner Mark Solomon recognized Riley as a standout attorney for her efforts on these matters and more.
The Texas Lawbook caught up with Riley about her path to specializing in healthcare fraud matters and key developments at the Department of Justice, including seeing more prosecutions of doctors, executives, lawyers and accountants one year into the Biden administration.
The Texas Lawbook: How did you focus your practice on white-collar criminal defense?
Rachel Riley: I didn’t start my legal career thinking that I could be a criminal defense lawyer and honestly I just got incredibly lucky early on. My first firm placed me in the white-collar group where I fell in love with the practice of advocating for people and companies when the stakes are at their highest. I’ve had the good fortune to work under fantastic former AUSAs my entire career and their insights have served to further deepen my passion for criminal justice along the way.
The Lawbook: How did the special assignment as assistant district attorney in the Dallas DA’s office prepare you for your practice today? What was a highlight or two from that experience?
Riley: During my time as a lawyer-on-loan, I obtained invaluable experience assessing and trying jury trials in a fast-paced environment that is nothing like the federal system. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to gain confidence in the courtroom that would otherwise have taken me years to obtain in federal practice.
The Lawbook: What did you learn from your internships with Judges Jane Boyle and Elizabeth Lang-Miers?
Riley: With Justice Lang-Miers, I learned about the appellate process in state court. With Judge Boyle, I spent most of my time researching and writing, which allowed me to get an inside perspective of how opinions are crafted. Both internships were amazing opportunities to learn directly from the judge.
The Lawbook: What are one or two of the most interesting cases you have handled recently or are currently working on?
Riley: Right now, we are appealing the public-corruption conviction of a self-made billionaire who was convicted of bribery based on campaign contributions that he made to an elected state official. The issues surrounding the potential use of a campaign contribution as a bribe make this a particularly interesting First Amendment case.
We also recently represented a physician in a healthcare fraud case where the jury acquitted the physician on seven of the eight fraud charges and hung on the eighth count. The count on which the jury hung involved the exact same set of facts, people and time period (essentially the same alleged scheme) as the other seven charges on which the jury acquitted. The government now wants to retry the physician on the remaining count, which raises a host of double jeopardy issues that we are litigating before the Fifth Circuit.
The Lawbook: What changes, if any, have you seen in enforcement the first year of the Biden Administration?
Riley: The Department of Justice has doubled down on emphasizing the prosecution of individuals involved with corporate misconduct. When companies are under investigation, they can no longer cherry-pick which names or details to provide DOJ if they want to obtain full cooperation credit. There has also been a renewed focus on “gatekeeper liability.” Specifically, we are seeing more prosecutions of doctors, executives, lawyers and accountants than before.
The Lawbook: What are the key developments or important trends at the DOJ and/or SEC that you are closely following?
Riley: At DOJ, we continue to see an expanding focus on various aspects of healthcare (from durable medical equipment, to laboratory billing to compound pharmacies, and so forth). A significant amount of my practice revolves around the defense of healthcare-fraud charges, so we keep a close eye on the enforcement activity in this area. Meanwhile, the SEC has increased focus on the digital-asset markets — for example, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens — so we closely monitor the evolving regulatory field in this area.
Publisher’s Note: Katten is a sponsor of The Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker page. This Q&A is an associated thought leadership piece.