Jennifer Lieser

Jennifer Lieser is a partner at Kaplan Marino, a white collar and complex criminal boutique firm in Los Angeles. She is highly regarded in both legal and academic circles for her exceptional skills in litigating and investigating business and financial crimes. She leads the firm’s internal investigation and corporate compliance practice group, working with small to medium-sized companies throughout the country.

Jennifer has published in legal treatises and publications on international extradition, frauds involving cryptocurrency, and other policy, political and legal current events. She makes regular guest appearances on national television and online news networks, and speaks at legal conferences on a diverse array of white-collar and internal investigation topics.

Legal and Civic Leadership

Jennifer contributes to her colleagues as an active leader in white-collar defense lawyer associations. She is a leader of the international Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA), co-chairing the Social Media Committee, vice-chairing the Young Professionals Committee, and serving as the social media coordinator for the WWCDA Los Angeles Chapter. Jennifer also serves as co-chair of the Criminal Justice Section for the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). She is a member of the White Collar Criminal Defense Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense (NACDL) and the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association (ABA).

Comprehensive and Collaborative Strategies

Jennifer handles business and financial crimes, including fraud and money laundering offenses, cryptocurrency regulatory issues, tax controversy matters, AML compliance, and other white-collar and complex crimes. Her comprehensive understanding of both federal and state laws enables her to effectively navigate the intricacies of the legal landscape on both a local and national level.

Internal Investigations: As chair of the firm’s internal investigation and corporate compliance practice group, Jennifer represents corporations, financial institutions, and other organizations in investigations commonly triggered by government scrutiny or other litigation. Known for her meticulous attention to detail, Jennifer leads discrete and efficient investigations to identify possible red flags and advise accordingly on the corporate implementation of recommended legal compliance frameworks for addressing and rectifying areas of potential liability or exposure.

White-Collar Defense: In addition to internal investigations, Jennifer devotes a significant portion of her practice to defending clients against various white-collar criminal charges. Her holistic perspective in handling these matters places a strong emphasis on teamwork as the best vehicle by which to achieve a client’s objectives, leveraging a cadre of experts such as forensic accounts, investigators and technology experts. Her work in this area has resulted in the complete dismissal of charges in a healthcare fraud conspiracy, several worker’s compensation fraud matters, and a federal indictment for illegal importation of goods, among others. As an effective litigator, she has successfully defended her clients both in and out of the courtroom, reaching favorable and thoughtful resolutions for her clients.

A Background of Excellence

Prior to joining Kaplan Marino, Jennifer’s career journey began with a foundation in corporate public relations, where she honed her skills at one of the world’s leading firms in the field. Her experience extended to serving as a marketing and public relations director for a medium-sized company, where she gained valuable insights into strategic communication and brand management.

Jennifer’s transition to law was informed by her early exposure to the courtroom at the Orange County Public Defenders, an experience that ignited her passion for advocacy. Drawing on her background in public relations and marketing, Jennifer brings a unique perspective to her legal practice. Her ability to effectively promote large companies and diverse products has proven instrumental in crafting persuasive legal arguments and skillfully representing her clients.

This dual expertise not only enriches Jennifer’s approach to litigation but also enhances her ability to navigate complex legal challenges with creativity and confidence.

At Kaplan Marino, Jennifer continues to leverage her comprehensive skill set to provide exceptional legal representation, building on her reputation for excellence and her dedication to client success.

Recent Notable Matters

Attorney Charged in Illegal Referral and Kickbacks Scheme – Case Dismissed

Attorney client was charged in an illegal referral and kickbacks scheme. Over the course of more than six years, we challenged by demurrer each charging instrument and succeeded, leaving the district attorney with little choice other than to recharge using a different mechanism. After the demurrer, the Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice, foreclosing the District Attorney the ability to recharge. The District Attorney did not appeal the decision.

Federal Criminal Case Dismissed

Luxury designer handbags importer/exporter client was accused of the illegal importation of hundreds of luxury bags worth more than half a million dollars as part of an international scheme in which false customs declarations were submitted in the importation of hundreds of Hermes bags from Europe and Asia, cheating the government out of significant duties. But the case began collapsing once we conducted our own investigation and litigated the actual falsity of the declarations which ultimately challenged the materiality requirement for the false statement regarding the bags’ actual values to Customs, a highly technical issue. We argued that the bags still would have entered the United States even if there were no false statements and thus the crimes, as charged, did not actually occur. After nearly six years of litigation and negotiation, the government moved to dismiss the case which the Court granted.

Notably Favorable Varsity Blues Plea Deal

Client was the highest-ranking administrator indicted in the Varsity Blues college admission scandal. In this RICO, mail, and wire fraud case, the offenses carried up to 19 years in prison in what was said to be the largest college admissions scandal ever. Due to successful motions practice the Court significantly curtailed the government theories of prosecution and altogether dismissed the property fraud counts. 10 days before the trial was scheduled to begin in November 2021, a plea deal was reached wherein Dr. Heinel pled guilty to a single count of wire fraud. Dr. Heinel was sentenced to six months in custody. This term was significantly less than many other defendants with far less culpability.

Workers Comp Fraud Case Dismissed

Client was charged with workers compensation fraud for failure to pay workers compensation premiums for his employees. The charges alleged losses in excess of half a million dollars. We researched and investigated the issue and presented compelling evidence to the District Attorney. After consideration of that evidence, the LA District Attorney dismissed the case.

Client Sentenced to Probation

Our client was indicted in September 2015 with multiple counts of money laundering, capping, and tax fraud in what the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office described as a “$150M insurance fraud.” Read press release. Over the course of the next two years, a series of hearings on motions to dismiss would take place in which we would strategically dismantle the case. Ultimately, all the money laundering counts (10 total), all the capping counts (2 total), and all the tax fraud counts (4 total) were dismissed by the court. Faced with the likelihood of having the final single conspiracy count dismissed, the District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case in its entirety only to refile a severely scaled-down criminal complaint charging only the money laundering and conspiracy counts. After exposing the weaknesses in the prosecution, the case was resolved for a $5,000 restitution payment and two years’ probation.

 

Accolades

BEST LAWYERS, ‘BEST LAW FIRMS,’ LOS ANGELES, TIER 1 IN CRIMINAL DEFENSE: GENERAL PRACTICE AND WHITE-COLLAR, 2025

Chambers and Partners, Band 1 Litigation, White Collar & Government Investigations, Kaplan Marino, 2025

CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS ‘UP-AND-COMING LAWYER, WHITE-COLLAR CRIME & INVESTIGATIONS,’ 2025

DOYLE’S GUIDE, ‘LEADING LOS ANGELES LAWYERS: WHITE COLLAR CRIME & REGULATORY INVESTIGATIONS,’ 2025

BEST LAWYERS ‘ONES TO WATCH,’ 2024–2025

LAWDRAGON ‘500 X–THE NEXT GENERATION,’ 2023–2025

SUPER LAWYERS ‘UP-AND-COMING TOP 50 WOMEN,’ 2024

SUPER LAWYERS ‘UP-AND-COMING TOP 100,’ 2024

LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL ‘WOMEN OF INFLUENCE’ ATTORNEY, 2024

LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL ‘THRIVING IN THEIR 40S,’ 2023

LOS ANGELES TIMES ‘MOST INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN NOMINEE,’ 2021–2024

LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL ‘WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP AWARD NOMINEE,’ 2021–2023

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY EXPERTS, COMPLEX CRIMINAL LITIGATION LAW AWARD, 2021

DAILY JOURNAL ‘TOP 40 UNDER 40,’ 2020

WOMEN’S WHITE COLLAR DEFENSE ASSOCIATION, SPOTLIGHT MEMBER, 2020

SUPER LAWYERS ‘RISING STAR,’ 2018–2025

Education and Bar Admissions

University of San Diego School of Law, JD, 2016
University of California, Berkeley, BA, with Honors, 2006

Bar Admissions
California, 2016
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2017
District Courts throughout the U.S.

Professional Memberships

Women’s White Collar Defense Association
White Collar Criminal Defense Committee Member, National Association of Criminal Defense 
Criminal Justice Section, American Bar Association 

Association Leadership

Co-Chair, Criminal Justice Section, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles 
Co-Chair, Social Media Committee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association 
Vice-Chair, Young Professionals Committee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association 
Executive Leadership – Social Media Coordinator, Los Angeles Chapter, Women’s White Collar Defense Association