​Marlo Pfister Cadeddu graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C. where she was a recipient of the Order of the Coif and the CALI Excellence for the Future Award. While at Georgetown Law, she participated in the school's Criminal Justice Clinic and was recognized by the International Academy of Trial Lawyers as the outstanding clinic student for her work in aggressively and successfully defending clients charged with felonies in state court in Montgomery County, Maryland. While in law school, Marlo authored a scholarly paper addressing the application of the federal organizational sentencing guidelines to financial institutions.  After graduation, Marlo clerked for then United States District Judge A. Joe Fish of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in preparation for her career as a federal criminal defense attorney. During her tenure as a law clerk, she reviewed and analyzed more than a hundred presentence investigation reports ("PSRs") and numerous federal criminal motions and other pleadings.



The law is Marlo's second career. She received her bachelor of arts degree with departmental honors from the Johns Hopkins University in 1989 and thereafter received her master of arts degree in strategic studies and international economics from the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. After graduate school, Marlo was an international banker for a number of years. She completed the Chase Manhattan Bank Management Development Program in New York and at age twenty-two was named Second Vice President in the Chase Manhattan International Private Banking Division. In that capacity, she managed more than forty million dollars in assets of high net worth European and African clients. After three years in New York, Marlo left private banking for corporate finance. As an international corporate lender with a subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks in Baltimore, Maryland, she received training in corporate credit analysis and accounting and provided cash management and credit products to American subsidiaries of foreign companies.



Marlo’s law practice is devoted exclusively to handling criminal matters in federal courts nationwide, from the pre-indictment investigation stage through trial, and if necessary, sentencing and appeal. In her nearly a quarter century of practice, Marlo has defended federal cases involving charges of homicide, bribery, conspiracy, drug possession, drug and controlled substance analogue distribution, obscenity, child pornography, firearms violations, terrorism and material support, money laundering, fraud (including mail and wire fraud), health care offenses, false statements, perjury, public corruption, campaign finance violations, export violations, computer and internet crimes, postal crimes, criminal copyright infringement, tax crimes, federal juvenile delinquency, and criminal and civil forfeiture, among others.  Her graduate degree in economics, banking background, and experience and knowledge of the federal courts qualify her to handle all aspects of complex white-collar criminal matters.

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In addition, Marlo has been specially appointed by courts in the Northern District of Texas, the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of Mississippi to serve as a Coordinating Discovery Attorney in complex criminal cases.  A Coordinating Discovery Attorney assists defense counsel in the effective use of technology and litigation support resources in cases that involve a large number of defendants, voluminous discovery or complicated electronic discovery issues. Marlo lectures frequently on criminal defense topics including:  defending federal mega-cases, the management of electronic discovery, case budgeting, and sentencing mitigation. She has taught trial advocacy at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law and has served as a National Institute for Trial Advocacy faculty member.  She also is regularly invited to teach at trial advocacy programs hosted by the Center for American and International Law, including its Military Defense Counsel Trial Litigation Program and the Terry MacCarthy Cross-Examination Program. 

 

Marlo is a Master in the Higginbotham Inn of Court and is a Master and founding member of the Sarah T. Hughes North Texas Federal Criminal Law Inn of Court.  Marlo is a member of the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Women's White Collar Defense Association.

 

Marlo was appointed by the President of the American Bar Association to serve as a steering committee member of the ABA's Death Penalty Representation Project from 2018-2022. Marlo also currently serves as the Fifth Circuit's Representative to the United States Sentencing Commission's Practitioner's Advisory Group.

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Marlo has been listed as a Chambers & Partners Band 4 ranked attorney for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations in the United States for 2022 and 2023. Chambers & Partners is a prestigious organization that identifies and ranks the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in over 180 jurisdictions throughout the world. Marlo has been named to D Magazine's list of best lawyers multiple times, including most recently in 2024.



Marlo is admitted to practice in all state courts in Texas and Nevada. She is also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, and the Fifth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal.  She appears as counsel pro hac vice in federal courts throughout the country and has filed petitions for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.  

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Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Marlo is a dual American and Swiss citizen and has lived in a number of countries in Europe and the Middle East.  She speaks French and Italian.  In her free time, Marlo enjoys riding her motorcycles, road and mountain biking, and competing in triathlons.

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