James Loonam is a former federal prosecutor and seasoned trial attorney. He regularly advises companies, boards of directors, board committees, and senior executives in sensitive and high-stakes investigations by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and other criminal and regulatory authorities. James has a proven track record of securing difficult to obtain evidence and identifying and deploying novel and effective legal arguments to obtain optimal outcomes for clients. He regularly handles matters involving allegations of securities fraud, foreign and domestic corruption, False Claims Act violations, insider trading, accounting fraud, and cyber breaches.
Prior to joining Jones Day, James was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Deputy Chief of that office's Business and Securities Fraud Section. James led and supervised high-profile cases involving the FCPA, insider trading, securities fraud, health care fraud, and money laundering offenses. He personally led groundbreaking FCPA investigations, including the investigation and conviction of a publicly traded hedge fund for corrupt transactions in Africa. James conducted numerous jury trials and successfully briefed and argued 19 appeals before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
James also prosecuted numerous significant terrorism cases, including a case the then-Attorney General of the United States described as involving "one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since September 11th, 2001." James has worked closely with the CIA, NSA, Department of Defense, and foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies. He also has tried cases involving murder, kidnapping, racketeering, tax evasion, and firearms.
- University of Connecticut (J.D. with honors 2000; Member, Law Review, Moot Court Board, and Criminal Trial Clinic); Drew University (B.A. in English Literature and History 1997)
- New York, U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Served with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York (2005-2017) in the following positions: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Criminal Division; Deputy Chief and Senior Trial Counsel, Business and Securities Fraud Section; and Deputy Chief, Violent Crimes and Terrorism Section (k/n/a the National Security and Cybercrime Section)
U.S. Department of Justice:
Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service (DOJ's highest award)
Director's Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team
United States Attorney's Award for Excellence in Criminal Litigation