Gary Alan Udashen, Attorney

Gary A. Udashen's law practice combines the book knowledge that comes with an active appellate practice with the trial skills of a seasoned trial attorney. Dividing his practice between these two areas has enabled Mr. Udashen to bridge what is often considered separate areas of criminal defense work.

Mr. Udashen is well known as a criminal appellate specialist. He has effectively represented clients in federal and state appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. His appellate cases have made law in many areas of criminal jurisprudence ranging from bank fraud cases to suppression of exculpatory evidence by prosecutors.

Additionally, Mr. Udashen has over 25 years experience trying cases in both Federal and State courts. These cases include trials ranging from conspiracy to white collar fraud to murder and manslaughter. The intricate knowledge of the law that comes from his appellate practice is carried forward into the trial court where Mr. Udashen is able to effectively pursue complex and innovative defensive strategies. Mr. Udashen has also developed an expertise in various areas of criminal law, including search and seizure, evidence and federal sentencing procedures. A substantial portion of his practice has been devoted to the representation of professionals, such as lawyers and health care providers with substance abuse and related criminal problems. Mr. Udashen has also represented persons falsely imprisoned for crimes they did not commit and has obtained the release of several of these persons. He has also carried his desire to free innocent persons from prison into his work with the Innocence Project of Texas where he has worked as Dallas Director and is currently serving as President.

Mr. Udashen has also represented persons wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they did not commit and has obtained the release of several of these persons. Mr. Udashen's success on these cases has been the subject of widespread media attention.

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Mr. Udashen frequently appears as a speaker at seminars sponsored by such groups as the State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He has spoken on a variety of topics, including pretrial motions, jury selection, contempt, expert testimony, exculpatory evidence, appeals and preservation of error. He is also a frequent contributor to the Voice for the Defense, the periodical of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association where his articles have covered a variety of topics, including search and seizure issues, jury selection, appellate review standards, and malpractice in criminal cases. Mr. Udashen also served for 5 years as Feature Articles Editor for the Voice for the Defense. Recently, Mr. Udashen was appointed by the Court of Criminal Appeals to serve as a member of the newly formed Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit.

Mr. Udashen has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Mr. Udashen has been continuously listed in the publication, Best Lawyers in America, in the areas of Appellate Law and White Collar Criminal Defense and Non-White Collar Criminal Defense. National Public Radio has described Mr. Udashen as one of the most prominent criminal attorneys in Texas.

Mr. Udashen has also been active at S.M.U. Law School. He has written portions of the Criminal Law Sections on the S.M.U. Law Journal Annual Survey of Texas Law on five different occasions. He also served as a trial tactics instructor at the S.M.U. Law School.

Mr. Udashen is a 1977 graduate of the University of Texas and 1980 graduate of the S.M.U. Law School where he was a member of the Southwestern Law Journal. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Dallas County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association as well as the Dallas Bar Association. He is a member of the Board of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and has served as Chairman of the Appellate and Criminal Specialization Committees and co-chairman of the Attorney Assistance Strike Force. Mr. Udashen is also a former member of the Patrick Higginbotham Inns of Court. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in the State of Texas, as well as the United States Supreme Court and United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuit. Mr. Udashen is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.