The law firm of Dowd Bennett LLP announced on January 24, 2014, that NAFUSA member James Martin will be joining the firm as a partner. Martin is a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and practices in the areas of white collar criminal defense, corporate governance and compliance and complex business litigation. He joins the firm from Armstrong Teasdale, where he has been lead defense counsel in numerous civil and white-collar criminal matters including a jury trial that resulted in a victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission in an enforcement action. Even before obtaining that result, Martin had previously been named by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as the “go- to lawyer for SEC investigations.” He also recently litigated a federal criminal fraud case in which his advocacy resulted in rulings from the court that led to the dismissal of the case by the government. As a federal prosecutor, he was successful in the prosecution of white collar crime, public corruption and tax fraud.

“We are delighted to have a lawyer with Jim’s tremendous experience as a new partner at Dowd Bennett,” said NAFUSA past president and life member Ed Dowd, Jr. “We worked with Jim at the United States Attorney’s office and during the Waco investigation and he gives us more depth in areas that are very important to our firm and our clients.”

In 1999 and 2000, Martin spent a year and a half working with former Senator John Danforth and Ed Dowd, Jr. in the Office of Special Counsel that investigated allegations surrounding the 1993 confrontation between law enforcement and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. As Assistant Special Counsel, Martin served as Director of Investigative Operations, where he supervised 12 attorneys and 38 federal agents. Martin is now the fourth person from that Office of Special Counsel to join Dowd Bennett. On joining Dowd Bennett, Martin remarked “This is a tremendous opportunity for me to join the best group of trial attorneys in the State.”

Dowd Bennett, which specializes in complex commercial litigation, enforcement proceedings, and white-collar criminal defense, now has 20 lawyers. In addition to its other experienced federal and state court litigators, Dowd Bennett counts among its ranks multiple federal district court and circuit court of appeals clerks, state appellate court clerks, two United States Supreme Court clerks, two former United States Attorneys, four former assistant United States Attorneys, and a former Missouri state prosecutor.