Compassionate Release Advocacy: Building Strong Cases for Relief

Compassionate release advocacy often requires more than establishing a client’s eligibility for relief. Strategic mitigation development plays a critical role in building persuasive and credible requests for release.

Join us on July 14 at 1 p.m. ET with appellate defense attorney Jessica Graf for a webinar on critical factors in developing comprehensive and compelling requests to decision-makers for compassionate release. Participants will explore how mitigation work in compassionate release cases differs from other stages of advocacy, as well as how to prioritize records, supporting evidence, and key considerations in expert collaboration. The session will also cover practical strategies for building strong release plans that anticipate common concerns such as rehabilitation and long-term support systems.

Click the link below to register for this event.

This webinar will be recorded. CLE credits are not available for this webinar; however, a letter of attendance will be provided upon request to Mary Roberts at [email protected].

Speaker’s Bio:

Jessica Graf is a criminal appellate defense attorney and founder of Jessica Graf Law, a boutique firm based in Lubbock, Texas dedicated exclusively to criminal appeals and post-conviction relief in Texas and federal courts. Certified in Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, her practice encompasses compassionate release, Texas and federal criminal appeals, federal habeas review for state convictions, and habeas corpus relief for federal convictions. Though based in Lubbock, she represents clients throughout Texas and beyond.

Jessica earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Texas Tech University. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Cathy Cochran and the Honorable David Newell at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, where she represented clients across the trial and appellate divisions and the Capital Habeas Unit. She currently serves on the Board of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and on the Board of Ridgeback Rescue of the U.S., a national dog rescue.