About
Widely described as the only attorney in the U.S. who served time in federal prison for a white collar crime and returned to practice white collar law, Jeff Grant founded the White Collar Support Group in 2013 with his wife Lynn.
He leads GrantLaw as private general counsel to executives and professionals facing high-stakes legal matters, and remains a longtime advocate for reentry and second chances. He has opened and hosted the conference every year since founding it.
Elsewhere on this story
- Jeff Grant's own episode of Nightmare Success Nightmare Success episode: Jeff Grant, NY Attorney to Prison to Ordained Minister
- Second acts, with Jeff Grant, Drew Chapin and Brent Cassity Nightmare Success episode: Jeff Grant, The Federal Expungement Process
At the White Collar Conference
Jeff Grant introduced Smith, noting that he had served five years in federal prison, built a business and was appointed deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He said Smith had left the Bureau about a month before the conference and still kept his commitment to give the keynote.
“And he was one of us.”
Watch at 0:35
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction by Jeff Grant
- 2:12 Childhood and a drug conviction
- 4:10 Prison, faith and white-collar mentors
- 9:50 Solitary housing and starting over at release
- 13:36 Building a business and going back into prisons
- 18:42 Selling the company and funding a foundation
- 20:07 Receiving a presidential pardon
- 22:28 Being asked to help lead the Bureau of Prisons
- 25:11 Visiting prisons and changing leadership
- 30:47 What comes next for prisons
- 33:19 The Disruptors documentary and Missouri
- 35:30 A challenge to give back
With Joshua J. Smith
Jeff Grant opened the keynote and introduced Jeffrey Toobin and his book The Pardon.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:55 Second chances and American comebacks
- 1:57 The pardon power: the Constitution, Hamilton, Washington and Lincoln
- 8:19 Parole, Warren Harding and Eugene Debs
- 12:18 Ford pardons Nixon, and pardons from Carter to Clinton
- 16:50 George W. Bush, Scooter Libby and the Obama Clemency Project
- 20:21 Trump and Biden pardons
- 28:02 Who decides pardons now
- 31:53 How people get a pardon today
- 33:17 The comeback
With Jeffrey Toobin and Craig Stanland
Jeff Grant moderated the panel, explained how the White Collar Support Group's Federal Expungement Initiative got started, and asked the panelists what people should weigh before filing a pardon petition and whom to trust with one.
“There's no reason why Congress could not pass an expungement law like we have in many states.”
Watch at 0:57
Chapters
- 0:00 Jeff Grant introduces the panel and the Federal Expungement Initiative
- 2:51 Mark Osler on the history and types of clemency
- 9:19 Biden and Trump clemency grants
- 15:38 What a pardon petition faces now
- 19:46 Expungement vs. clemency, and restoring gun rights
- 22:14 Mark Osler on culture, mercy and humility
- 24:04 How the Federal Expungement Initiative started
- 25:30 Todd Haugh on white collar offenders and pardon data
- 29:49 Mark Osler's clemency clinic
- 32:11 Advice on applying for a pardon and hiring help
With Mark Osler and Todd Haugh
Jeff Grant moderated the careers panel and closed with three takeaways: things will turn out differently than you expect, live within your means, and choose your partner carefully. He described the path from volunteering after prison to seminary, ministry and getting his law license back, and how his wife Lynn talked him out of rebuilding a large firm.
“One, no matter what you think is going to happen, it will be different.”
Watch at 27:38
“I spent next year's money in the current year. And that created pressure for me, business pressure, family pressure.”
Watch at 28:20
“I don't make nearly as much money as I did in the old days. That's probably a blessing, but my reach, my sphere of influence probably is a hundred times larger.”
Watch at 36:53
Chapters
- 0:00 Jeff Grant introduces the panel
- 1:22 Jeffrey Abramowitz, from federal prison to the Petey Greene Program
- 7:00 Kaysia Earley on arrest, faith and becoming a criminal defense attorney
- 10:49 Kaysia Earley: tell your story and keep the faith
- 16:45 Jeff Wertkin on rebuilding a career after prison
- 18:55 Jeff Wertkin on a scooter job and freelance litigation support
- 22:00 Jeff Wertkin on patience and rejected job applications
- 24:18 Jeff Wertkin on finding community at The Fortune Society
- 27:25 Jeff Grant on living within your means
- 29:17 Jeff Grant on seminary, ministry and getting his law license back
With Jeff Wertkin, Jeffrey Abramowitz and Kaysia Earley
Jeff Grant welcomed the audience to the inaugural conference and shared the history of the White Collar Support Group, which had held 435 Monday night meetings and served more than 1,200 members since four people joined its first meeting in May 2016. He thanked the sponsors, speakers and his wife and co-founder, Lynn Springer, before handing off to the fireside chat.
“This conference is designed for us to show respect and dignity for ourselves so that we can demand respect and dignity from others.”
Watch at 2:03
“So this is a moment and a mission and a movement for all of us.”
Watch at 2:19
Chapters
- 0:00 Craig Stanland opens the White Collar Conference
- 1:54 Jeff Grant welcomes the audience
- 4:40 Brent Cassity introduces David Israel
- 8:12 Getting his confidence back after being charged
- 13:09 Owning your story
- 18:49 A business idea that started in prison
- 21:41 From a prison recipe to O Magazine
- 26:33 Saying "why not" and taking action
- 30:16 Hiring people coming home from prison
- 32:48 What he learned and his closing advice
With Brent Cassity, Craig Stanland and David Israel
Join us in fall 2027.
The fourth annual White Collar Conference is planned for fall 2027, virtual on Zoom and open to all.