About the Conference
The annual conference by and for people navigating the white collar criminal justice system.
The conference grew out of the White Collar Support Group, the world's first support group devoted to people navigating the white collar justice system. Since 2013, the group has served roughly 2,000 members through free weekly Zoom meetings, every Monday evening, confidential and open to justice-impacted individuals and their families.
In 2024 that community decided its conversations deserved a bigger room. The White Collar Conference became the annual public gathering: one morning a year where the justice-impacted, their families, the attorneys who defend them, the academics who study the system, and the advocates working to change it all sit at the same table.
Every session is recorded and published, on the record, free to watch. The first two stages held a bestselling legal analyst, law professors from Stanford, the University of St. Thomas and Indiana University, whistleblowers, founders who rebuilt from nothing, and the people living the second sentence firsthand. In 2026 the former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons took the third. The fourth is planned for fall 2027.
Three years, on the record. A fourth is coming.
2027 · Fourth Annual
Fall 2027 · Planning underwayThe date, theme and speakers are not set yet. Join the list and we will tell you first.
Get 2027 updates →2026 · Ending the White Collar Life Sentence
October 10, 2026 · RecapThe third annual conference confronted the collateral consequences that outlast the formal sentence. Joshua J. Smith, former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the first person appointed to senior BOP leadership after serving time in its custody, delivered the keynote. Dickie Scruggs sat for the fireside chat, and Rashmi Airan and Desmond Meade joined the featured panel on rebuilding a career after a justice journey.
2026 recordings →2025 · Pardons, Expungement & Restoring Our Dignity
October 11, 2025 · 5 sessionsJeffrey Toobin keynoted on the politics of presidential mercy. Joe Bankman of Stanford Law spoke with Brent Cassity about his family's experience of a high-profile prosecution. Law professors Mark Osler and Todd Haugh covered pardons and the push for federal expungement legislation, and Yale's Dr. Erin Frey presented early findings from a restoration study conducted with the support group.
2025 recordings →2024 · Starting Over: Out of Isolation and Into Community
October 19, 2024 · InauguralThe first conference opened with a fireside chat with David Israel, who went from incarceration to founding GOOD PLANeT Foods. Bill Baroni, whose conviction the Supreme Court unanimously overturned, moderated the "Out of Isolation" panel with Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung. Panels on healing through community and on careers and reentry followed, with author Craig Stanland as emcee.
2024 recordings →Who it's for
The conference welcomes everyone who intersects with the white collar justice system: people facing or recovering from prosecution, their spouses, parents, and children, the defense attorneys and consultants who guide them, researchers and academics, journalists, and the reform advocates working on what comes next.
It is virtual, held on Zoom, and open to all. No one is asked to explain why they're in the room.
The organizer
The conference is produced by the White Collar Support Group, a program of Progressive Prison Ministries, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Jeff and Lynn Grant in 2013. Beyond the conference, the group runs free weekly support meetings, a speaker series, and advocacy initiatives on issues like the right to banking and federal expungement.
Jeff Grant, 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, hosts the conference each year.
The conversation does not stop when the room closes. Many of the people on this stage have also sat down with Brent Cassity on Nightmare Success, his podcast about falling and coming back, including a conversation on second acts with Jeff Grant and Drew Chapin. Each speaker profile links their episode where one exists.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the White Collar Conference?
- The White Collar Conference is the annual public gathering of the white collar justice community: one morning a year where justice-impacted people, their families, the attorneys who defend them, the academics who study the system, and the advocates working to change it all sit at the same table. It grew out of the White Collar Support Group and has been held every year since 2024.
- Who is the White Collar Conference for?
- Everyone who intersects with the white collar justice system: people facing or recovering from prosecution, their spouses, parents and children, the defense attorneys and consultants who guide them, researchers and academics, journalists, and reform advocates. No one is asked to explain why they are in the room.
- Where and when is the conference held?
- The conference is virtual, held on Zoom, on a Saturday morning in October from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Eastern. The 2024 conference was held October 19, 2024, the 2025 conference October 11, 2025, and the 2026 conference October 10, 2026.
- Who hosts the White Collar Conference?
- The conference is produced by the White Collar Support Group, a program of Progressive Prison Ministries, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Jeff and Lynn Grant in 2013. Jeff Grant, 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, hosts the conference each year.
- What happened at the 2026 White Collar Conference?
- The third annual conference, "Ending the White Collar Life Sentence," was held October 10, 2026. Joshua J. Smith, former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, gave the keynote, and Dickie Scruggs sat for a fireside chat with Brent Cassity. Drew Chapin moderated a panel on rebuilding a career with Rashmi Airan and Desmond Meade, and Gregg Johnson moderated a panel on pardons and clemency with Mark Osler and Alex N. Short video talks came from Tanya Pierce on restitution, P.G. Sittenfeld on fighting for his innocence, and Alex Little on sentencing, appeals and pardons.
- Who has spoken at past White Collar Conferences?
- The 2024 and 2025 stages held legal analyst and author Jeffrey Toobin; law professors Joe Bankman of Stanford, Mark Osler of the University of St. Thomas and Todd Haugh of Indiana University; Dr. Erin Frey of Yale; Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung; Bill Baroni, whose conviction the Supreme Court unanimously overturned; former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams; and GOOD PLANeT Foods founder David Israel.
- Can I watch past White Collar Conference sessions?
- Yes. All 17 recorded sessions are free to watch: five from 2024, five from 2025 and seven from 2026. Each year's page carries its recordings under the matching session, they are also on the White Collar Support Group YouTube channel, and each speaker profile links the sessions that person appeared in.
- When is the next White Collar Conference?
- The fourth annual White Collar Conference is planned for fall 2027. The date, theme and speakers are not set yet. Join the email list at whitecollarconference.com to hear them first.
- How can I speak at the White Collar Conference?
- Use the contact form at whitecollarconference.com/contact/ and choose "Speaking at the Conference." Tell us who you are and what you would bring to the white collar justice community.
- How can my organization sponsor the conference?
- Past sponsors include law firms, professional associations and nonprofits, listed on the sponsors page. To talk about sponsoring the 2027 conference, use the contact form and choose "Sponsoring the Conference."
- I am a journalist. Who do I contact?
- Use the contact form at whitecollarconference.com/contact/ and choose "Media / Press Inquiry." The team will put you in touch with the right person.
- What is the White Collar Support Group?
- The White Collar Support Group is the world's first support group devoted to people navigating the white collar justice system. Since 2013 it has served roughly 2,000 members through free weekly Zoom meetings every Monday evening, confidential and open to justice-impacted people and their families. Learn more at prisonist.org.