Laura Menninger

Background

Laura Menninger is a partner at Haddon Morgan and Foreman, a Denver-based criminal defense boutique with a national reputation for high-stakes federal criminal defense. The firm has represented clients in prominent federal prosecutions including terrorism cases, white-collar crime, and other matters requiring sophisticated understanding of federal criminal procedure.

Menninger earned her undergraduate degree and law degree and entered criminal defense practice, building expertise in federal court. Criminal defense at the caliber required for a Ghislaine Maxwell trial demands not only legal skill but comfort operating in an adversarial media environment, under intense public scrutiny, on behalf of clients whose alleged conduct generates public hostility.

Connection to Epstein

Laura Menninger and her partner Jeffrey Pagliuca were retained to represent Maxwell following her 2020 indictment. They took over from earlier counsel and served as Maxwell’s primary defense attorneys through the trial proceedings in 2021.

The Maxwell defense faced formidable challenges: the prosecution had strong witness testimony from multiple victims, documentary evidence, and the benefit of years of civil litigation discovery. The defense strategy focused on challenging witnesses’ credibility and memories, arguing that decades-old recollections were unreliable, and questioning whether memories had been influenced by civil litigation financial incentives.

Menninger conducted significant portions of the cross-examination of government witnesses at trial. She worked to find inconsistencies in victim testimony and emphasized points where witnesses’ accounts had shifted or where documentary records did not perfectly align with testimony.

The defense also challenged the seating of a juror who had disclosed prior sexual abuse experience during deliberations — a challenge that resulted in an appeal argument that the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit later considered.

Aftermath

Maxwell was convicted on five of six counts on December 29, 2021. Menninger and Pagliuca filed the appeal, which argued — among other grounds — that the juror disclosure issue warranted a new trial on at least some counts.

The appeal remains pending as of 2025-2026. Menninger has continued her practice at Haddon Morgan and Foreman. She has not made public statements about the Maxwell representation beyond court filings and appearances.

Defense representations of this type — representing deeply unpopular defendants charged with serious offenses — are fundamental to the adversarial system, and Menninger’s role was that of a defense advocate performing a constitutionally essential function.