Richard Kuniansky believes that the most successful defense is comprised of a combination of elements:
First, the attorney must have a thorough understanding of how the Government intends to prove its case.
Second, the attorney must thoroughly prepare his case by investigating all of the facts as well as the applicable law.
Third, the attorney must have the trial skills necessary to present this defense in the most forceful and successful manner possible.

Mr. Kuniansky's experience and hard work ethic allows him to combine all of these elements in successfully defending his clients.

Richard B. Kuniansky was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1953. He received his preparatory education at the University of Georgia, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance. He received his J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law, where he graduated Order of-the Coif in 1978.

Since his graduation, Mr. Kuniansky has been involved exclusively in the litigation of civil and criminal cases. From 1978 to 1980, he served as a prosecutor for the State of Georgia, then becoming an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida (Miami) assigned to the Presidential Drug Task Force.
After prosecuting primarily white collar criminal cases and drug cases for the Department of Justice over seven years, Mr. Kuniansky left government service to join the law firm of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams and Martin where he spent the next five years engaged in litigation practice with heavy emphasis in criminal tax litigation and commercial litigation before forming his own law firm in 1992.

Richard Kuniansky is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, Texas Association of Board Certified Specialists in Criminal Law, Bar Association of the Federal Fifth Circuit, Federal Bar Association and Houston Bar Association.
He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, Texas Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the . Fifth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, United States Tax Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. He is also licensed to practice law in both Texas and Georgia.

Mr. Kuniansky has been awarded an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell and was named a Texas Super Lawyer for 2004. He has lectured at seminars hosted by the Houston Bar Association-Criminal Procedure Section, and the Houston Bar Association-Cyber Section.

As a trial lawyer, Richard Kuniansky participated in his first jury trial within a week of graduating from law school. During his seven years with the Department of Justice, he prosecuted several of the largest cases in the country including a major conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act by transporting hundreds of millions of dollars of Lockheed Aircraft and Midair refueling equipment to Mohamar Kadafi's Air Force, and the largest bribery case in the history of the IRS. Mr. Kuniansky then spent the next five years with a large law firm specializing in defending criminal tax cases.

Mr. Kuniansky is a specialist in White Collar Crimes Criminal Defense in Federal Court.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES HANDLED:

FBI:

• Represented corporation and is president for allegedly defrauding NASA of millions of dollars in what the Government alleged was the largest fraud case in the history of NASA.
• Represented attorney accused of being the ringleader of an organization involved in staging automobile accidents to defraud insurance companies of millions of dollars.
• Represented numerous individuals in financial fraud cases alleging various schemes to defraud investors of millions of dollars.
• Represented numerous corporations and individuals in investigations of alleged Medicare fraud.
• Represented individual accused of accepting $1,000,000 bribe to influence the actions of a Federal Judge.
• Represented individual accused of "insider trading" in connection with purchase of options shortly before a merger.
• Represented car dealer accused of transporting cars across state lines to avoid inventory taxes; represented car dealer accused of defrauding port in connection with alleged flip of grain elevator.

Tax:

• Represented taxpayer in Federal Court in Houston accused of not paying federal income taxes on business proceeds that were diverted to a bank account in the Cayman Islands. Defendant acquitted on all counts.
• Represented businessman in Federal Court in Houston accused of making false statements on federal income tax returns. Defendant sentenced to probation. Was later able to obtain restoration of rights to possess a firearm at the federal level, and a pardon at the state level.

Customs:

• As an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted a California businessman for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act by supplying Lockheed] Aircraft (C-130's) and midair refueling equipment (to convert C-130's into KC-130's - midair refueling tankers) to Mohamar Kadafi to extend the range of the Libyan Air Force; Conspiracy involved several hundred millions of dollars of aircraft. Received top secret clearance and worked closely with the CIA and DIA. Also worked under the Classified Information Procedures Act ("CIPA"). See U.S. v. Elkins, 845 F.2d 775 (II Cir. 1989). Lead defendant sentenced to 15 years and ordered to pay a fine of $6,600,000, which was the largest fine imposed in Georgia history.
• As a defense attorney, represented a corporation accused of violating the Made in America Act; represented a corporation accused of exporting goods to Libya; represented an individual accused of failing to file a declaration that he was transporting a large sum of cash outside the country.

IRS:

• As an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted the largest bribery case in the history of the IRS. Defendant was alleged to have offered $1,000,000 bribe to influence an IRS agent to terminate a criminal tax investigation.
• As an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted numerous individuals accused of tax fraud.
• As a defense attorney, have represented numerous individual accused of income tax fraud. Have also represented numerous individuals accused of evading excise taxes on diesel fuel.

DEA:

• As a prosecutor, was member of Presidential Drug Task Force prosecuting what was at the time the largest drug cases in the country. As a defense attorney, have represented numerous individual accused of large scale drug trafficking, including case involving seizure of 831 kilograms of cocaine.

Secret Service:

• As an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuted what was at the time, the largest counterfeiting case in Georgia history ($6,000,000).

ATF:

• Successfully had conviction set aside of defendant convicted of transporting a large number of firearms with obliterated serial numbers in interstate commerce. As a defense attorney, successfully tried against ATF in Federal Court to obtain restoration of a convicted felon's right to possess a firearm. As an Assistant United States Attorney and as a defense lawyer, have handled appeals before the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal on almost every topic imaginable. Some of the reported decisions are as follows.

 

Certification/Specialties:

Board Certified in Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1992

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Lecturer, Houston Bar Association, Criminal Procedure Section; Lecturer, Houston Bar Association, Tax Section; Lecturer, Southern Methodist University School of Law; Lecturer, The Prosecution and Defense of Cyber-Porn Cases, Houston Bar Association, 2004 - Present; Lecturer, Immigration Consequences of the Patriot Act, 2003 - Present

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• College of the State Bar of Texas, 1993 - Present
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1993 - Present
• Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1993 - Present
• Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, 1992 - Present
• Texas Association of Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Law
• Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
• Federal Bar Association
• Houston Bar Association