Stephen Dockery
Stephen handles civil and criminal matters and any case involving complex legal issues. He represents individuals in state and federal court. Stephen has a keen eye for identifying unexplored legal and factual issues and distilling arguments in a way that a judge or juror can understand. Previously a white-collar crime journalist, Stephen brings to bear investigative skills and media savvy to every representation. He also has a granular understanding of local government issues after his work as assistant legal counsel for Harris County. He has defended elected officials from abuse of office by other officials, and he won a two-day bench trial to restore a representative to office. Stephen has also handled immigration and asylum proceedings and is admitted to appear in immigration court. Stephen speaks Arabic and has lived in Beirut, Lebanon and Buraimi, Oman.
Recent representations:
- Won a Not Guilty verdict at a jury trial for a disorderly conduct charge filed after a dispute at a local election event in Sweeney, Texas.
- Defended the Mayor of Corpus Christi from improper attempts to remove her from office. The mayor won a temporary restraining order in Federal Court. LINK
- Successfully defended a Texas city council member from fraud allegations. Stephen sued on her behalf and won a judgment restoring the city council member’s right to vote. The judge found other city officials had committed acts beyond their legal authority against his client. LINK
- Won an appeal of a civil discovery proceeding against a Mexican bank at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. LINK
- Won a motion protecting his client’s grand jury record from disclosure to the Mexican government in a Civil RICO case in Miami, Florida. LINK.
- Wrote federal sentencing memorandum for clients who received substantial downward departures and time-served sentences.
- Defeated an attempt to subpoena a Mexican accounting company through its United States office.
- Won pre-indictment dismissal of felony cases through grand jury presentations.
- Won a pro-bono appeal of an U.S. immigration decision on behalf of a client who came to the United States as a child.
Education:
J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law, 2019
Admitted:
State Bar of Texas; United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Clerkship:
Law Clerk to The Honorable Hilda G. Tagle in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 2019-2021
Member:
Houston Bar Association; Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association