Edward M. Chernoff
Houston, Texas
Partner
phone     (713) 222-9141
fax     (713) 236-1886
email     Email Me

Ed Chernoff is the patriarch of the firm, born in 1962. He is single, with a son from a previous marriage. He lives in Southampton in a brick English tutor style home. When he is without his son, he works out, works, sleeps, contemplates the fate of society, works and then works out some more. He finds his life meaningless without some goal upon which to aspire. He runs the Houston Marathon each year, despite the fact that running bores him to tears.

His son, Fate, is the center of Ed’s life. (In fact, his name is tattooed on Ed’s arm.) He is named after Ed’s Grandfather, who taught him the value of hard work and attention to perfection. Ed believes in perfection. He prepares his cases to an absolute obsessive extent.

Ed handles most of the complicated cases in the firm, including the Federal indictments and intricate State cases. He has the uncanny ability to dissect the most complex financial accusations and break them into their most basic building blocks. He is able to do this despite evidence literally involving thousands of documents, and he is able to do this after only a cursory inspection. He was recommended and received the Board Certification in Criminal Law in 1995. He was re-certified in 2000 and 2005.

Ed put himself through college with the aid of student loans, financial aid and a four-year stint at an ice cream shop. He achieved an accounting degree. Ed was able to afford law school thanks to a scholarship from the University of Houston Law Center and a job in the accounting department of a pest control company. Despite constant work, he made exceptional grades. In spite of the offers given him, Ed took a job with the Harris County District Attorney’s office. His tenure there is the stuff of legends.

Ed lost one felony jury trial out of forty. Every year he worked as an Assistant DA he led all trial prosecutors in cases tried and won. His first trial after leaving the DA’s office involved an Aggravated Robbery where the Defendant was recorded on videotape committing the crime. He won, nonetheless. He continued to win. In one year as a defense attorney he won all five cases he tried, and the total time it took for the jury to come to their conclusions of acquittal totaled 1 hour and 15 minutes.

In one highly publicized federal trial, the jury took less than 15 minutes to acquit a man accused of hacking into the Harris County District Clerk’s computer and causing damage. In another publicized case, the jury acquitted a woman accused of theft and then directed a letter to the elected District Attorney complaining of his decision to take the case to trial in the first place!

Ed takes great pride in the relationships he has fostered with his clients through the years. He views his responsibility to his clients and their families as the cornerstone of his practice. Many of his clients visit with him regularly and consider him to be one of their closest  friends.

Areas of Practice:
      100% Criminal Offense - State and Federal

Litigation Percentage:
      100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certification/Specialties:
      Criminal Law, Texas Board Legal Specialization, 1995

Bar Admissions:
      Texas, 1987
      U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1992

Education:
      University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas, 1987
      J.D.

      University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1984
      B.S.

Past Employment Positions:
      Harris County District Attorney, Assistant D.A., 1987 - 1991

Languages:
      Spanish