ABOUT BRITTANY

A nationally recognized attorney, author, and philanthropist, Brittany K. Barnett has spent her career proving that the impact of the criminal legal system should never define a person’s potential. Through post-conviction work, she has won freedom for more than 70 men and women serving unjust sentences—most of them life without parole—under federal drug laws, and is one of the few attorneys in the country to secure clemency for clients across multiple presidential administrations.

Her commitment is personal. As the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother, Brittany knows firsthand how incarceration devastates families and entire communities. That understanding shapes everything she builds.

As founder and managing attorney of the Law Office of Brittany K. Barnett, she leads a practice spanning federal criminal defense, corporate, and entertainment law. She also advises entertainers and executives on business, reputational, and strategic matters. She is the founder of Manifest Freedom, which invests in entrepreneurs impacted by the criminal legal system, works to end extreme sentencing, and uses art and storytelling to change how the country sees justice. The organization houses the Buried Alive Project, which fights to free people serving life sentences for federal drug offenses, and through Girls Embracing Mothers, Brittany has supported thousands of women and girls impacted by maternal incarceration.

Her memoir, A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom, was an NAACP Image Award nominee and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist and was named the #1 Best Book of 2020 by Amazon Editors. Brittany’s TED Talk titled “The Creativity, Innovation, and Ingenuity Languishing in US Prisons” has garnered over 1.7 million views, inspiring a new vision for justice and freedom in America. her work has been featured on Hillary Clinton’s Gutsy, NPR's Fresh Air, Good Morning America, CNN, and in The Washington Post, Essence, and The Atlantic. In 2025, she was named to Variety’s Dealmakers List.

Brittany is a graduate of SMU's Dedman School of Law and recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. She previously served as Associate General Counsel at ORIX USA Corporation, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to her legal career, she was a Certified Public Accountant and worked at PwC. Brittany holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Accounting.

This life has taken me on a remarkable journey – one that continues to transform my understanding of justice and the very definition of freedom itself. Every day I celebrate the lives of the many people who have given me the privilege to represent them. In many ways, they have freed me too.

May we always evolve in perfect alignment with the most authentic, purest versions of ourselves.

BRITTANY K. BARNETT