Hanni Fakhoury

Partner

Hanni Fakhoury is a seasoned and accomplished litigator who represents individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions and other government investigations.

For more than ten years, Hanni has handled complex federal criminal cases in courthouses throughout California, defending a wide range of matters including tax, wire, bank and securities fraud, money laundering, export control violations, and computer crimes. His recent clients include a former California state Assemblyman charged with wire fraud and money laundering, a NASA contractor accused of violating international export control laws, and a venture capital fund founder accused of bank fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.

Hanni’s attention to detail and zealous advocacy has translated into success for his clients. Some of his victories include:

• Defense of young man accused of terrorism crimes at jury trial, resulting in mistrial and ultimate dismissal of all terrorism charges

• Defense of foreign national accused of wire fraud and identity theft, resulting in dismissal after filing pretrial motion to dismiss

• Defense of professional tax preparer charged in 41 count tax fraud indictment, resulting in dismissal of all charges at conclusion of evidentiary hearing on pretrial motion to dismiss

• Defense of legal professional indicted for wire fraud and filing false claims, resulting in dismissal of all charges

• Defense of bank executive in criminal restitution hearing, resulting in court rejection of government’s request for $7 million in restitution and awarding no restitution at all

• Counsel for federal employee under investigation, resulting in no action

The rare attorney who enjoys practicing in—and excels in—both trial and appellate courts, Hanni has handled numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the California Court of Appeal. He was selected as a member of the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) appellate panels for the Central and Eastern Districts of California. Hanni is also the Vice-Chair of the Alameda County Bar Association’s Appellate Executive Committee.

Hanni has particular expertise on electronic surveillance and digital privacy, and has worked on groundbreaking litigation on law enforcement acquisition of cell phone location records, the FBI’s use of sophisticated computer malware as an investigative tool, and the compelled decryption of electronic devices. Because of his experiences, he was named to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Forensic Science Standards Board Legal Task Group, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Fourth Amendment Center Tech Advisory Board.

Judges and other attorneys value Hanni’s insight, and he has lectured at more than 100 legal conferences. Hanni was specifically recruited by the Federal Judicial Center to provide training to federal judges on technology and surveillance in criminal cases.

Hanni has also been repeatedly selected to serve the Northern District of California’s Court and attorneys. He is a member of the Northern District’s CJA Administration Committee, which advises the court on effective representation of indigent criminal defendants in federal court, as well as the Northern District’s Criminal Rules and Practice Committee, and its Standing Committee on Professional Conduct.