When your freedom, your reputation, or your company is on the line, the lawyer you choose is the most consequential decision you will make.
For four decades Kent Schaffer has defended clients in Houston, across Texas, and throughout the country in the cases that matter most: federal white-collar prosecutions, government investigations, drug trafficking, sanctions matters, and high-profile violent offenses.
Trained in the field
Kent’s career began before law school. He spent three years as chief investigator for Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, one of the most celebrated trial lawyers in American history. There he learned how cases are actually won — by out-investigating the prosecution, finding the facts others miss, and preparing every cross-examination long before trial. Those lessons still shape how he handles a file.
He graduated from the University of Houston’s Bates College of Law, now the University of Houston Law Center, in 1981. He is licensed in Texas and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, multiple United States Courts of Appeals, and every federal district court in Texas.
Recognized by his peers, year after year
The profession does not hand out its highest honors casually. Kent has earned them consistently for decades: a Chambers & Partners ranking in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations; inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2003; selection to Texas Super Lawyers every year since 2007; an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer rating for legal ability and ethical standards; and a “Superb” rating from Avvo. The Houston Press has named him the best criminal defense lawyer in Houston.
The lawyer people call when the stakes are highest
Public officials, executives, entertainers, and professional athletes who could hire any lawyer in the country have chosen Kent. His clients have included a former mayor of Houston, a United States congressman, senior corporate officers facing federal fraud prosecutions, and a sitting governor of a Mexican state. He has represented recording artists, film and television actors, championship boxers, and professional basketball and baseball players — in criminal matters and in the business and reputational problems that follow them.
Corporations turn to him as well. He has represented and advised companies in publishing, food processing, aerospace, building materials, and energy services, along with a federally recognized tribal government, in matters involving regulatory scrutiny, government investigations, and environmental exposure.
Crisis management and investigations
Selected press coverage is collected on the firm’s In the News page.
Not every threat arrives as an indictment. A substantial part of Kent’s practice is guiding companies and individuals through the period before charges — grand jury subpoenas, target letters, internal investigations, and regulatory inquiries. Quiet, early work in that window frequently determines whether a case is ever filed, and it is often the whole representation.
When a matter is already public, the legal problem and the reputational problem have to be managed together. Kent has spent a career doing both at once, for clients whose names the press already knows.
Credentials
Bar admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- District of Columbia Bar
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States Courts of Appeals
- All federal district courts in Texas
Education
University of Houston, Bates College of Law (now the University of Houston Law Center), J.D., 1981
Before law school
Chief investigator for Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, three years.
Representative results
Federal cocaine-conspiracy charges dismissed after an unlawful search
Dismissal of federal charges alleging conspiracy to possess more than 50 kilograms of cocaine, on the ground that the search that produced the evidence was unlawful.
Federal prosecution, 2024.
Federal fraud and kickback charges declined against a physician
A physician under federal investigation in the Northern District of Texas for health-care fraud and receiving kickbacks. The government declined to bring charges.
Federal investigation, Northern District of Texas, 2024.
Motion to suppress granted in a federal methamphetamine prosecution
Evidence suppressed in a federal prosecution involving approximately 30 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Federal prosecution, 2024.
Charges dismissed on the day of trial in a child sexual-abuse prosecution
Multiple counts of sexual abuse of a child. The charges were dismissed on the day the case was called for trial.
2024.
No charges brought after a multi-year federal PPP fraud investigation
The client was the target of a multi-year federal investigation into Paycheck Protection Program fraud. The government declined to prosecute.
Federal investigation, 2024.
No-bill from the grand jury in a fifteen-year-old cold-case murder
The grand jury declined to indict in a murder investigation reopened after fifteen years.
2022.
Federal counterfeit-goods indictment dismissed
Dismissal of an indictment charging conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and trafficking in counterfeit goods, arising from alleged imports of counterfeit server and computer components.
Federal prosecution, 2022.
Federal health-care fraud investigation closed without charges
A physician under federal investigation for medical fraud and kickbacks. After two years of negotiation and meetings with federal officials the investigation was closed with no charges brought.
Federal investigation, 2021.
Each matter depends on its own facts and law. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter.