Former Department of Justice Attorney James P. Melendres Joins Snell & Wilmer as Partner

PHOENIX - June 6, 2016 - PRLog -- Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that James P. Melendres has joined the firm as a partner in its Phoenix office. Melendres recently served at the Department of Justice as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General where he oversaw legal and policy issues regarding sensitive cyber matters. He also led some of the Department's most high-profile and complex matters, including the prosecution of former Central Intelligence Agency Director and retired four-star general David Petraeus for mishandling classified information and making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

At Snell & Wilmer, Melendres will leverage his substantial prosecutorial background and experience with data security and cybercrime matters to help clients across a spectrum of industries manage cybersecurity risks and respond to cyber-attacks. His experience positions him well to protect companies both before and after a data breach, including conducting pre-breach security and privacy assessments, leading tabletop exercises and breach simulations, coordinating crisis management and incident response, advising on breach notification, and defending companies in breach-related litigation and regulatory proceedings. His experience also makes him very valuable to companies responding to government demands for information about their customers and subscribers pursuant to a range of electronic surveillance statutes.

In addition, Melendres' experience puts him in a strong position to represent companies and individuals in a wide variety of matters relating to federal and state criminal regulatory enforcement, including federal and state securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, federal procurement, public corruption and U.S. sanctions and export control regimes. He has significant experience investigating complex financial fraud cases and leading internal investigations.

"In today's global and rapidly changing business environment, cyber-related issues present a host of complex legal challenges," said Matt Feeney, chairman of Snell & Wilmer. "James' unique experience and background will be instrumental in helping Snell & Wilmer clients address these concerns. He has an established track record as an exceptional attorney and will play a critical role in helping us significantly enhance our cybersecurity, data protection and white collar practices."

During his tenure at the Department of Justice, Melendres also served as the Department's representative to the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a multi-agency fusion center that serves as the national focal point for integrating and sharing information related to all domestic cyber threat investigations. He also led multiple large-scale cyber investigations involving the distribution of sophisticated malware and the subsequent exfiltration of proprietary business information from corporate victims.

While at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, Melendres investigated and prosecuted numerous sophisticated financial crimes including bank fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, false statements, and money laundering as well as foreign corruption and bribery, obstruction of justice, aggravated identity theft, racketeering, and international organized crime. He has also led federal investigations involving securities fraud and coordinated parallel proceedings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies.

Melendres earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his A.B. cum laude from Dartmouth College.

About Snell & Wilmer

Founded in 1938, Snell & Wilmer is a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in nine locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico, including Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Los Angeles and Orange County, California; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Los Cabos, Mexico. The firm represents clients ranging from large, publicly traded corporations to small businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.swlaw.com.