Cohan, Jessica A.

Cogdell Law Firm is pleased and proud to announce that Dan Cogdell was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) at its 61^stSpring Meeting on March 5, 2011 held in San Antonio, TX.

Widely considered to be one of the premier legal associations in America, the American College of Trial Lawyers is the only professional organization in the world to count among its members every member of the Supreme Court of the United States and every member of the Supreme Court of Canada. The organization is dedicated to elevating the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the profession; its newly revised Code of Pretrial and Trial Conduct articulates standards far more demanding than the minimal standards set forth in most State and Federal ethical and civility codes.

The College extends fellowship only by invitation and after careful investigation, offering places to experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.

College lawyers comprise the best of the North American trial bar, and must have a minimum of 15 years of trial experience before being considered for fellowship. They are called to the college from all branches of trial practices, and include advocates who represent plaintiffs or defendants in civil proceedings of all types, as well as prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers. As membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province, there are only 5,863 Fellows in the United States and Canada.

Dan Cogdell, in over 25 years of legal practice, has earned an outstanding reputation within the field as well as garnered significant local and national attention for his victories in the courtroom. For the last 17 years, Cogdell has held a spot on the Best Lawyers in America list; recently, he was named to the Texas Super Lawyers list and singled out as Houston's White-Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year. After winning the only acquittal for any of the defendants in the Enron- "Barge Trial", Cogdell has continued his practice with distinction on several successful, high-profile defenses and acquittals, including the current representation of Laura Pendergrast-Holt of the Stanford Financial Group and an ex-Marine who obtained an acquittal in a recent murder trial of a Rice University Basketball Player.

Cogdell is one of the youngest College members in the state of Texas, as well as one of the very few criminal lawyers to be inducted into the organization. He looks forward to persisting to advance the College's mission in his own practice.