310-975-7040 justice@kgzlaw.net

Ian Graham

Mr. Graham has a broad range of post-conviction experience, including successfully overturning multiple wrongful convictions and life sentences.

Ian Graham, Partner

Phone: (310) 975-7040
Fax: (310) 496-0758
Email: ian@www.kgzlaw.net

Ian Graham has a broad range of post-conviction experience, including successfully overturning multiple murder convictions and life sentences. In 2023, his work on behalf of a wrongfully convicted man led to the Los Angeles Superior Court granting a petition for habeas corpus and overturning a twenty-two year old conviction and life sentence [Read the Court’s Ruling Here]. Previously, his work on behalf of Mario Rocha, a young man wrongfully convicted of murder, was featured in the Los Angeles Times, an award-winning documentary film “Mario’s Story” and the book Unbillable Hours. Mr. Graham’s practice focuses on writs, appeals, resentencing petitions and parole related matters in California and Federal Courts.

Prior to joining Kravis, Graham & Zucker, Ian worked as an attorney in the litigation department of Latham & Watkins, LLP and Quinn Emanuel. Ian has taught as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School’s Juvenile Justice Clinic and lectured widely on habeas corpus and post-conviction relief issues. He is a former member of the board of directors of InsideOut Writers, a non-profit that works with incarcerated and at-risk youth in Los Angeles.

Ian graduated from Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law.

Speaking Engagements

Stanford University Law School. American Constitution Society lecture.

UC Berkely School of Law. Overturning the Conviction.

Rice University. Pre-law Society Keynote speaker.

University of San Francisco Law School. Post-conviction practice lecture.

Vinson & Elkins, LLP. Best Practices of Pro Bono. Houston, Texas.

University of Texas School of Law. The Difference Lawyers Can Make.

Bakersfield Legal Assistance Gala. Keynote speaker at annual gala.

University of Southern California. Lecture, Race, Class & Politics.

Williams & Connolly, LLP. Lecture. Washington, D.C.

National Juvenile Defenders’ Conference. Panelist on defending major juvenile crime cases.

Media Appearances

Jim Campbell, Yale Radio

AOL. http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/07/08/ian-graham/

Above The Law http://abovethelaw.com/2010/05/unbillable-hours-a-true-story/

The California Lawyer. https://www.callawyer.com/Clstory.cfm?eid=909453

Lars Larson Radio Show

KBOO, Portland Community Radio

Quoted in Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Oprah Magazine.

Publications

Unbillable Hours, A True Story, Kaplan/Simon & Schuster (May 2010)

California Lawyer, May 2010.

Free Consultation

Contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help you.


Unbillable Hours, A True Story

Kaplan/Simon & Schuster (May 2010)
The story—part memoir, part hard-hitting expose—of a first-year law associate negotiating the arduous path through a system designed to break those who enter it before it makes them.
Available on Amazon

Certification of Rehabilitation

In California, you may be eligible to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation if you have successfully completed your felony sentence and have kept out of trouble.

Criminal Appeals

Appeals offer convicted defendants an opportunity to have a higher court review the process that lead to conviction in order to ensure that this process was fair to the defendant.

Expungements

Many defendants are eligible for a process known as expungement, under which an individual is released from all penalties and disabilities arising from conviction.

Re-Sentencing

Recent changes in California law provide an opportunity for those who have been convicted of a crime to have their sentence reduced or even eliminated.

Prisoners Rights

While many people might not realize it, prisoners still have certain rights guaranteed by both the California State and United States Constitutions.

Immigration Cases

If you took a plea deal in a criminal case and suffer from immigration consequences you may have legal grounds to vacate the plea.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Anyone who is in prison, or otherwise restrained in some way by the criminal justice system, can bring a writ of habeas corpus petition to challenge their imprisonment.

Parole Suitability Hearing

Parole is a period of supervision that follows an individual after their release from prison. Most inmates will automatically be released to parole after finishing their “determinate” sentence.

Proposition 47

Effective November 5, 2014, proposition 47’s main purpose is to reduce certain non-violent and non-serious felonious crimes to just misdemeanors.

Proposition 57

Effective November 8, 2016, Proposition 57 was approved and maintains a substantial effect on California’s Criminal Justice system as a result of overpopulation in prisons.

SB 260

Young offenders can be tried as adults and sentenced to extremely long or even life sentences as young as 14. In 2013, California passed a law changing child sentencing practices for certain crimes.

SB 261

Effective January 1, 2016, SB 261 extends the unique youth offender parole process created in SB 260 (above) to inmates who committed crimes between the ages of 14-22, but were tried as adults.