NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Life Member Directory
Life members are attorneys who have made an extraordinary commitment to support the work of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. By supporting NACDL at the highest dues level, they are accorded a lifetime membership as long as they continue to meet the standards for NACDL membership. In addition, they are listed in this special expanded life member directory, including bio and photograph, and receive a special award in recognition of their support for NACDL’s work.
AV rated by Martindale-HubbellBoard Certified Criminal Trial, The Florida BarListed, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, ATLA (2007-present)Listed, Nation's Top One Percent, National Association of Distinguished CounselPast Juris Consult, La Chaine des Rotisseurs des Etat-UnisRecipient, "Pro Bono" Award, Brevard Co. Legal Aid (2000-02)Recipient, Law and Leading Attorneys (1996-Present)Past Director, East Coast Zoological SocietyPast Director, YMCA
Education
Undergraduate: University of Florida , , 1974
Law School: Univ. of Florida, Holland Coll. of Law, 1977
Editor-in-Chief, "Wake Forest Law Review",(1985-86)Past President, Knoxville Bar Assn.Past Chair, TBA Criminal Justice SectionListed, Best Lawyers in America (2005 - Present), Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 100 in Tennessee (2006-Present), Certified Criminal Trial SpecialistFellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2013Faculty Member, Tenn.Crim. Defense CollegeSpeaker, ABA, NACDL, TACDL, TBA, KBA
Education
Undergraduate: University of Tennessee, BS Business, 1982
Law School: Wake Forest, JD, 1986
Bar Information
US Supreme Ct., 5th, 6th and 7th Cirs., E. Dist. TN,, M. Dist. TN
Marissa Elkins is from western Massachusetts and focuses her practice on criminal law, civil rights litigation, and appellate advocacy. She began her legal career as a public defender and is a member of NACDL’s Indigent Defense and Mental Health Committees.
Alan Ellis is a nationally recounized federal sentencing, prison and. post-conviction, appeal and 2255 motion attorney representing federal criminal defendants and inmates throughout the United States. and asbroad. He endeavors to obtain for his clients the lowest possible sentence and if it is one of incarceration, the best facility possible with release at the earliest opportunity. Alan , a Past President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) , a former Law Professor in both San Francisco and Shanghai, China, a Past Present of the ACLU of Cntral Pennsylvania and a Fulbright award recipient, has defended thousands of cases over more than 50 years. He has authored more than 175 articles and books, including the Federal Prison Guidebook: Prison, Sentencing and Post-Conviction Remedies, is a frequent speaker and has more than 85 lectures, presentations and speaking engagements to his credit, including interviewing over 40 Federal judges for a series of articles on Law 360 and for Federal Lawyer Magazine on What Federal Judges Want at Sentencing. Federal Lawyer has described him as "one of this country's pre-eminent criminal defense lawyers." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has called Alan "a nationally recognized expert in federal criminal sentencing".
Certified Criminal Law Specialist by Minnesota Bar Association; President Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) 1994; Distinguished Member Award from MACDL 2004; Member Board of Directors MACDL - various terms; Graduate Trial Lawyers College, Dubois, Wyoming 2005.
Education
Undergraduate: Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A., 1973
Law School: William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 1983
Ellis Legal Entreprbuers, is one of the leading in public Sectors, as a Chaplin I get too many. No matter how complex, we understand, that preservation of rights is essential. We understand as Masters in the digital world, as a minister we care about people. God bless you!
our Expertise in The Digital era it’s wise to have all digital evidence checked. Certified Licensed Softre Practitioner. In this unique position we go back to the 1980s where tech started and now AI is being used and ladies Gentelman it can organize, mimic talk it’s not real or even dependable. Not when you face prosecution and your freedom depends on 100% accuracy. We bring the Credentials and Knowledge to dissect video/ Audio typically we can tell within 1 minute if a code has been wrote over or has a mirror code.
Education
Undergraduate: Jack Welch/ Applied MBA/Harvard MBA
Private practice of criminal law representing capital and serious felony clients; mitigation specialist, jury consultant (2009-2020); Adjunct Faculty Crim Law and Crim Pro, Indiana University - Bloomington IN (2018-2020); NCDC Summer Trial Practice Faculty (intermittently between 1980-2020); Indiana Public Defender Council: Training Director (1998-2009), Chair, Executive Board (1994-1996); Trained defenders in 27 states and Moscow, Russia; Appointed Member: Indiana Supreme Court Rules Committee (1998-2006),Professor, GA State Univ. Coll. of Law (1985-89), Visiting Professor, LLM in Litigation, Emory Univ. Law School(1988),Faculty, Natl. Criminal Defense College (1981-date), NLADA Life in the Balance; CCDA Monterey; Darrow Death Penalty College; Bryan Schechmeister Death Penalty College.
SuperLawyer, Top 100 Trial Lawyers - The National Trial Lawyers (2014, 2015)Top 100 DUI Attorneys - State of Indiana - Client Distinction Award - Martindale-Hubbell
Education
Undergraduate: DePauw University, B.A., 2000
Law School: Indiana University - Indianapolis, J.D., 2006
Fellow, American Coll. of Trial LawyersPast President & Hall of Fame Member, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Assn.Former Member, Board of Directors, NACDLOutstanding Criminal Defense Lawyer, State Bar of TexasCourse Director, Texas Criminal Trial Coll.Listed, Best Lawyers in America (1989-Present)Listed, Texas Super Lawyers- Top 100, Texas Monthly magazine (2003-Present)
Education
Undergraduate: Texas Tech University, , 1967
Law School: Texas Tech University School of Law, 1969
Past President, Seminar Chairman, Charter Member: MS Attorneys. for Constitutional JusticeMember, Mississippi Trial Lawyers Assn.Member, The Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America (Criminal Law Section) Member, American Bar Assn. (Criminal Justice Section)Member, Fedl. Bar Assn. Member, Tenn. Assn. of Criminal Defense LawyersListed, Best Lawyers in America, (2003- Present) Listed, Mid-South Super Lawyers (2006-present)Mississippi Bar Foundation Fellow-2016
Education
Undergraduate: University of Mississippi, , 1983
Law School: University of Mississippi School of Law, 1985
Asst. Prof., Univ. of South Carolina Coll. of Criminal Justice
Adj. Prof., Temple Univ. Dept. of Criminal Justice
AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
Named, Who's Who in American Law
Author: "Defending the Capital Punishment Case" (Feb 2009) and "Mastering Jury Selection Skills" (Oct 2006), National Business Institute
Author: "Criminal Trial By Copybook" George Buchanan Publishers (2004)
Education
Undergraduate: University of South Carolina, , 1975
Law School: Georgetown University Law Center, 1978
District Attorney Waco, McLennan County, TX 1983-1988UMHB Outstanding Young Alumnus Award 1985Guinness Book of World Records 1991The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers since 2007Texas Super Lawyer since 2011Who's Who in the WorldWho's Who in American Law
Education
Undergraduate: University of Mary Hardin Baylor , , 1972
Law School: Baylor University Law School , 1979
Bar Information
W. Dist. of TX, US, N. Dist. of TX, US, 5th Cir., US
Faculty, Natl. Criminal Defense Coll.Former Asst. US Attorney, Nashville, TN; Knoxville, TNFormer Asst. Dist. Attorney, Knoxville, TNFormer, NACDL ParliamentarianFormer Member, NACDL Board of Directors (1989-95)Rector, Church of the Good Shepherd, Knoxville, TN (2006-present)Recipient, NACDL Presidential CommendationListed, Best Lawyers in America
Education
Undergraduate: Stanford University, , 1965
Graduate: Virginia Theological Seminary, MDiv, 2005
Law School: Vanderbilt University School of Law, MA/JD, 1971
Board Certified Specialist in State and Federal Criminal Law. Criminal Defense Appointee to North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, 2011 - 2020. Board of Governors, North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NACDL affiliate) 2013-2018
Former Member, Board of Directors, NACDLFellow, American Board of Criminal LawyersMember, American Academy of Forensics SciencesPast Chairman, Criminal Law Section, Atlanta Bar Assn.Past Chairman, NACDL Forensic Evidence HotlineMember: Advisory Council for the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the LawFaculty, Natl. Criminal Defense Coll.Co-author of DOJ's "Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide For Law Enforcement"
Kobie is, first and foremost, a trial lawyer, with over twenty-five years of courtroom experience. Kobie has litigated cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States and in the military commissions in Guantanamo Bay. He represents clients in high-stakes criminal investigations, civil litigation, internal investigations, and trials. Recognized by his peers for his trial acumen, Kobie teaches the art and science of trial lawyering to other lawyers around the country.
Kobie began his career as a member of the Attorney General’s Honors Program, where he was as a civil rights prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section. There, he specialized in the prosecution of police brutality cases. Kobie never lost a case at the Department of Justice. That is notable because police brutality cases are arguably the hardest to prosecute in the federal criminal law.
Following his time as a federal civil rights prosecutor, Kobie pursued the challenge of defending people against federal prosecutions as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Maryland. In that role, he adeptly represented people accused of federal felonies. He won two-thirds of his trials. That is unusual. When trial was not his client’s expressed interest, Kobie skillfully secured several advantageous pre-verdict results, including case dismissals.
Founding Flowers Keller LLP is the capstone of Kobie’s decades-long commitment to ending Mass Incarceration. From helping people warehoused in California’s prisons in his teens to writing his college honors thesis on ending Mass Incarceration in his twenties to holding law enforcement criminally accountable in his thirties to holding these same people civilly accountable in his forties, Kobie’s commitment to ending Mass Incarceration spans a lifetime.
In the words of another former federal public defender and now Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, “History speaks.” In 2003, Kobie was one of the prosecutors who successfully tried the largest prosecution of federal correctional officers in the history of the Civil Rights Division. By 2023, he spearheaded the settlement of the largest wrongful conviction case in U.S. history—a case which was made into the critically acclaimed HBO documentary When a Witness Recants. This history of fighting to end Mass Incarceration is what Kobie brings to his advocacy for the wrongly accused and the wrongly convicted.
