Mr. Reed is co-founder of Lankford & Reed, P.L.L.C., and his practice is largely focused on cases of complex litigation, including antitrust, labor, securities, and environmental litigation. He received a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law School in 1982, was editor-in-chief of the American Criminal Law Review, and received the Panati Award for highest average in criminal courses. He served as a judicial law clerk at the U.S. District Court for District of Columbia and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California. Prior to founding Lankford & Reed, Mr. Reed was a principal and associate at other litigation firms focused on complex litigation.
Over his decades of experience, he has earned a reputation for taking on tough cases that he believes in, and succeeding for his clients, even when the odds are not in his favor. In addition to being an outstanding litigator, Mr. Reed is a skilled representative for his clients, passionately working to meet—and exceed—the legal goals of the people he serves. Some examples of his work representing clients include:
- Obtaining a jury acquittal of on criminal antitrust price-fixing charges after a month trial brought by the DOJ Antitrust Division.
- Obtaining a jury acquittal of a corporate officer on criminal securities charges after a four month trial involving revenue recognition practices of public companies, including AOL.
- Obtaining appellate dismissal of SEC civil claims brought against a corporate officer for improper venue after six years and a six-week federal trial.
- Obtaining appellate dismissal of criminal charges against a lawyer after a six-month jury trial.
- Obtaining voluntary dismissals of federal bribery and tax indictments by the Justice Department within weeks of scheduled trial dates in 2015 and 2016.
Mr. Reed has testified in multiple congressional hearings, and has been recognized by VIS International Commercial Arbitration as an Arbitrator, and by the Global Competition Review as Litigator of the Week in 2015. He has also been recognized by Martindale Hubbell as one of the Best Lawyers in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Areas from 2014 to present.
Mr. Reed has submitted amicus briefs to the Supreme Court and other courts on behalf of bar associations on constitutional issues, including the American Bar Association’s brief in support of the constitutional right to use legitimate assets to secure criminal defense counsel in Luis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1083 (2016) (Sixth Amendment protects defendant’s right to obtain counsel of choice through payment of legitimate monies), and the Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s amicus brief in support of the Double Jeopardy rights of Puerto Rico residents in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, 136 S. Ct. 1863 (2016).
Mr. Reed has provided commentary on legal topics in local news broadcasts in Washington, D.C., and he has also been a guest commentator on MSNBC’s Hard Ball, CNN’s Burden of Proof, C-SPAN’s Supreme Court Review, C-SPAN-2's Close Up, and CNBC’s Real Stories. He is a respected lecturer on a variety of topics, including state forfeiture law, white-collar criminal defense, and RICO, and is a frequent author.
For more information, or to contact Mr. Reed directly, you can call our Alexandria law office at 703-299-5000 or complete our convenient online contact form
Notable Case Studies
- Obtained acquittal of the pricing director of a maritime company in Puerto Rico federal court after a month trial of what the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division claimed was “one of the largest domestic price-fixing conspiracies ever investigated by the United States.”
- Obtained acquittal of a corporate officer after a four-month trial in the Eastern District of Virginia for alleged securities fraud in connection with revenue recognition accounting in the longest criminal trial to date in that District.
- Obtained trial judgment for the Republic of Benin re-securing title for its diplomatic mission in New York.
- Prosecuted environmental class action in Alaska against industrial polluter to settlement.
- Obtained what was then the largest back pay award issued by the National Labor Relations Board in an administrative proceeding on behalf of returning striking employees.
- Successfully defended multiple legal suits brought across the country by a national public company against a labor international to protect the exercise organizing rights.
- Secured a ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the standing of farmers to bring antitrust claims against the Chicago Board of Trade.
Education
Georgetown University Law School (1982) cum laude
- Editor-in-chief, American Criminal Law Review
- Panati Award (highest average in criminal courses)
McGill University (1978) (Joint Honors, Philosophy & Political Science)
- President, Students’ Society
Clerkships
- The Honorable Warren Ferguson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1984–1985)
- The Honorable John J. Sirica, U.S. District Court for District of Columbia (1982–1984)
Bar Affiliations
- Member, District of Columbia Bar (1982)
- Member, Virginia Bar (2001)
- Member, U.S. Supreme Court Bar (1988)
- Member, Circuit Courts for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, D.C. and Federal Circuits, and several District Courts
- Member, American Law Institute (elected 2003)
- Member, American Bar Association (1983)
- Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1987)
Author
- Smith & Reed, Civil RICO (Lexis 1987 & 55+ semi-annual supplements).
- Reed, “On the Importance of Being Civil: Constitutional Limitations on Civil Forfeiture,” 39 New York Law School Law Review 255 (1994).
- Reed, “The Defense Case for RICO Reform,” 43 Vanderbilt Law Review 691 (1990).
- Reed, “Criminal Forfeiture Under the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984: Raising the Stakes,” 22 American Criminal Law Review 747 (1985).
- Reed & Gill, “RICO Forfeitures, Forfeitable ‘Interests,’ and Procedural Due Process,” 62 North Carolina Law Review (1983).