About
Alex Little is the founder of Litson, a Nashville federal litigation and white-collar defense firm. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in two federal districts he led national security and white-collar investigations and tried dozens of cases before federal juries. He clerked for a federal judge, and earlier worked at The Carter Center and as a CIA political analyst.
At the 2026 White Collar Conference he walked through the back half of a federal criminal case: sentencing, post-conviction motions, clemency and pardons. His through line is that there is no such thing as "the system," only people making decisions.
At the White Collar Conference
Alex Little followed his April talk on the first 72 hours of a case by covering sentencing, post-conviction relief and clemency. He said each stage is decided by specific people, from the sentencing judge to an appellate panel to the advisors around the president, and that the loss amount and a full picture of the defendant matter most at sentencing. He noted the roughly one-year deadline for post-conviction motions and said recent pardons have come before sentencing, during a sentence and before people report to prison.
“There's no such thing as a system or a bureaucracy. It's just people making decisions.”
Watch at 0:32
“Early always beats late.”
Watch at 2:07
“But you, like all people, can do hard things.”
Watch at 3:12
Join us in fall 2027.
The fourth annual White Collar Conference is planned for fall 2027, virtual on Zoom and open to all.