Dani R. James

In addition to criminal matters, Dani handles complex civil litigation on behalf of corporations, directors and officers, and others, representing them in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits and civil racketeering cases, as well as complex business disputes. She also conducts corporate internal investigations and provides counsel to audit committees and special litigation committees on compliance matters.

Recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (2019 – 2023), Lawdragon 500 (2019 – 2022) and Legal 500 (2022 – 2023), Chambers sources have described Dani as “really creative, committed, smart, empathetic and [having] a wonderful demeanor with clients, who really respect her,” as well as “a persuasive courtroom advocate, strategically smart and a passionate fighter for her clients” and “an extraordinarily strong lawyer and one of the future leaders of the bar.” Legal 500 recently lauded Dani as an “excellent lawyer,” saying that she and her colleagues “throw themselves between the government and their clients, fighting for justice every step of the way.”

From 1999 to 2003, Dani served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, representing the United States as lead counsel in a wide variety of federal criminal cases involving securities fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, international narcotics trafficking, racketeering and violent offenses, as well as appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Dani served as assistant visiting professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she taught courses on criminal law and conducted extensive research on federal sentencing issues.