Craig J. Mordock

Bar / Professional Activity

• US District Court for Eastern District of Louisiana
• All Louisiana state courts
• US District Court for Western District of Louisiana
• US District Court for Middle District of Louisiana

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Client charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana with federal wire fraud and facing a significant custodial sentence under the advisory sentencing guidelines. Through extensive pre-sentencing advocacy, a detailed §3553(a) variance presentation, and negotiation with the government, secured a sentence of 6 months custody followed by 18 months of home detention — a substantial downward variance from the guideline range., 2025
• Retained before charges were filed in a serious state felony investigation. Through early engagement with investigators and the district attorney’s office, developed and presented evidence undermining the state’s theory of the case. No charges were ever filed. The client, who had faced potential exposure to significant state prison time, was never indicted and never arrested., 2024
• Retained during an active law enforcement investigation into alleged child sex offense. Through early defense investigation and presentation of exculpatory evidence to the prosecuting authority, persuaded the district attorney’s office to decline prosecution. No charges were filed. No registration. The client’s life and career were preserved., 2025
• Client charged in federal court with firearms offenses and facing enhanced sentencing exposure. Litigated procedural challenges to the presentence report under Rule 32 and presented a variance argument at sentencing focused on individualized mitigation. Client sentenced below the government’s initial position., 2025

Representative Clients

• Emanuel “Book” Richardson, former assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Arizona, in connection with the federal investigation into college basketball corruption brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (2017–2019). The matter received national media coverage including in The New York Times, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated., 2019
• Denny McLain, former Major League Baseball pitcher and two-time American League Cy Young Award winner (1968, 1969), in a criminal matter that received national media coverage.

Educational Background

• Seton Hall University, Bachelor of Science, Major: Business Administration, 1993, 1989-1993

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• A practitioner’s guide to jury selection in criminal trials, drawing on 20 years of state and federal trial practice. The book organizes voir dire around the psychology of reasonable doubt;  which jurors can actually inhabit that cognitive state, and how to identify them through authority orientation, ambiguity tolerance, and generational communication patterns. Forthcoming., Jury Selection in Criminal Cases, 2026

Honors

• Selected for 7th consecutive year., Super Lawyers, 2026
• Lanier Trial Academy — Trial Advocacy Training. Multi-day intensive trial advocacy program taught by Mark Lanier covering jury selection, cross-examination, storytelling, and closing argument. Ongoing trial advocacy training beyond state CLE requirements., Lanier Trial Academy, Lanier Trial Academy, 2025
• Appearances as a legal analyst on NBC’s Today, WWL-TV (CBS New Orleans), Fox 8 New Orleans (WVUE), and WGNO (ABC New Orleans), providing commentary on criminal law matters., Legal commenter, Various, 2026
• Superb Rating 10.0 on AVVO, AVVO, 2026

“Best Criminal Defense lawyer in New Orleans”