Profiles · Attorneys
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Lawyer or judge
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner partner and former Assistant U.S. Attorney; trial counsel for Stephanie Hockridge in United States v. Reis and Hockridge (N.D. Tex. 4:24-cr-00287-O).
Identity and role
Richard E. Finneran is a partner in Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's St. Louis office; his practice description and his 2010–2017 service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri are cited to the firm profile; we do not have a copy. He appears as counsel for Stephanie Hockridge in the Blueacorn founder prosecution (DocketAlarm report and PacerMonitor excerpt), alongside Gregg Gallian of Dallas.
Pandemic relief role
Finneran's role was criminal defense in the founder-level PPP fraud prosecution that went to a jury: United States v. Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge, No. 4:24-cr-00287-O (N.D. Tex.), before Judge Reed O'Connor. Reis pleaded guilty; Hockridge went to trial and was convicted by a jury in June 2025 (DOJ release); the Texas Lawbook account of Finneran's intent-based defense is cited, but we do not have a copy. The jury convicted Hockridge of one conspiracy count and acquitted her on four substantive wire-fraud counts. On November 21, 2025 she was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment and ordered to pay $63,952,063.64 in restitution to SBA.
Government support / loan record
No personal PPP loan or government-support issue was found. His relevance is legal representation of a defendant in a pandemic-relief criminal case.
Where they are now
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's profile lists Finneran as a partner in St. Louis. His post-sentencing statement that he expects the conviction to be overturned on appeal is reported by the Texas Lawbook.
Finneran tried the case alongside Dallas attorney Gregg Gallian (docket captures). The co-defendant who pleaded guilty was Nathan Reis, Hockridge's husband. The other Blueacorn co-founder criminal case, involving James Flores, was before Judge Terry R. Means, not O'Connor.
Finneran represented the defense side of the only Blueacorn founder case that went to a jury.
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents and archived captures
- Docketalarm Docket Report 2026 06 17
- Nathan Reis (and Stephanie Hockridge) — N.D. Texas (Fort Worth) — 4:24-CR-287-O
- DOJ, Hockridge sentencing release Nov. 21, 2025
- Public PacerMonitor docket excerpts for Finneran filings
Sources
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner profile, Richard E. Finneran: Richard E. Finneran (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) (original: bclplaw.com · stored capture)
- CourtListener docket, United States v. Reis, No. 4:24-cr-00287 (N.D. Tex.): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69366012/united-states-v-reis/
- Local DocketAlarm report, U.S. v. Reis et al., N.D. Tex. No. 4:24-cr-00287.
- Local Blueacorn Reis/Hockridge case summary
- DOJ, Hockridge sentencing release (Nov. 21, 2025): DOJ Office of Public Affairs, Hockridge sentencing press release Nov. 21, 2025 (original: justice.gov · stored capture)
- DOJ USAO-NDTX, Hockridge conviction release (June 2025): DOJ USAO-NDTX, Hockridge conviction release June 2025 (original: justice.gov · stored capture)
- The Texas Lawbook, trial and sentencing coverage naming Finneran and Gallian as Hockridge's counsel: Former TV News Anchor Gets 10 Years in Pandemic Loan Scam (original: texaslawbook.net · stored capture)