White Collar Advice Blog

Dignity In Prison: The Men I Admired
A New Morning Habit I’ve been testing myself to start each morning differently. For years, my habit was automatic: get up, head
5 Common Mistakes Defendants Make in Federal Investigations
The Most Common Mistakes Defendants Make in a Federal Investigation When federal agents show up, every choice you make matters. Most defendants
Hardest Part of Getting Out of Prison: Why Reentry Is Harder Than You Think
What’s the Hardest Part of Getting Out of Prison? It’s not the bars. It’s doing the work every day without knowing when—or
Do White Collar Criminals Go to Dangerous Prisons?
Sometimes, but not always. Placement depends on your sentence length, background, and behavior. Most white collar defendants are placed in minimum-security prison

Case Managers, RDAP, Release Plans, and the Battle for Early Prison Release
I opened today’s webinar by acknowledging something I once felt every day as a defendant: I wasn’t living with dignity. I asked
Can a Criminal Conviction Affect Parenting? What Defendants Need to Know
Can a Criminal Conviction Affect Parenting? Yes. A criminal conviction can limit how you parent, even in situations that seem small—like signing
The White Collar Advice blog helps people under investigation or facing federal sentencing understand the system, avoid mistakes that lead to longer sentences or tougher prison placements, and prepare for prison and reentry.
People under federal investigation, facing sentencing, or preparing for prison who want to build a documented record that shows they are different from the government’s one-sided version of events. Family members who want to understand the process and help a loved one prepare should read it too.
Yes. The blog is based on the combined experience of our team at White Collar Advice, including my time in the system, Michael Santos’s 26 years in federal prison, and the work we’ve done with thousands of people going through investigations, sentencing, and reentry. Everything comes from what we’ve seen and documented over many years.
These blogs teach you how to create assets that do not currently exist to influence cynical stakeholders, like a Federal Judge or Probation Officer.