James D. Wareham

James D. Wareham (“Jamie”) is Fried Frank's Global Chair of the Litigation Department, resident in the firm's Washington, DC office.

Throughout his 30-year career, Jamie has represented sophisticated clients in “bet-the-company” litigations as well as enforcement and regulatory matters. He is a trusted advisor to multinational public companies and company leadership, boards of directors, and special committees on complex financial matters and shareholder dispute issues.

He has successfully led litigation defense efforts on behalf of Perrigo, Under Armour, Aerie Pharmaceuticals, UBS, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, Lockheed Martin, Amec plc, Laidlaw, the former CFO of LyondellBasell and similar multinational corporations, boards of directors, and senior executives. Many of these clients were facing overlapping civil and criminal exposure with wide-ranging implications.

He has also led internal investigations around the globe arising out of bribery allegations, securities and accounting irregularities in connection with cross-border government investigations, and in proceedings before the US Congress.

Prior to joining Fried Frank, Jamie served as a partner with a large international law firm. Before that, he served as the Global Chair of Litigation for a US-based multi-national firm.

Jamie is repeatedly recognized by such publications as Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading individual in Litigation: Securities and White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, praising him for his ability, “to provide complex board counsel with an understanding of the implications of his advice for criminal, SEC and civil litigation matters.” He is also recognized as a Leading Individual by The Legal 500 in the category of Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense. He is viewed as a leader in his arena and is often requested to speak on developments in litigation and emerging trends. He spoke at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Compliance & Legal Society's Annual Seminar on “Handling a Global Regulatory Investigation.”

Work highlights:

• Defending Under Armour, Inc. and the members of its Board of Directors in a securities class action litigation filed in the US District Court for the District of Maryland concerning disclosures and statements made by defendants regarding the company’s expected revenue growth. Advised the full Board of Directors on a host of strategic issues.
• Representation of members of the Board of Directors of Xerox Corporation in connection with derivative, direct, and class action litigation challenging proposed transactions between Xerox and Fujifilm.
• Representation of Board Members of The Weinstein Company addressing issues related to oversight of senior executives and past allegations of harassment by those executives.
• Leading the defense of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in federal securities litigation filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey arising out of a drop in the company’s share price.
• Defense of the Board of Directors and Special Committee of Under Armour, Inc. in four shareholder lawsuits filed in Maryland state court following the company's announcement of a new corporate structure, including a plan to issue a new class of shares.
• Successfully defended Chevron Corporation in the investigation and defense of the worldwide freight forwarding investigation conducted by the DOJ and the SEC. Panalpina and several large participants in the oil industry pled guilty or paid fines. No action of any kind was taken against Chevron.*
• Secured favorable results for Fannie Mae’s former CEO, Daniel Mudd, in a securities class action and related shareholder and ERISA litigation in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Fannie Mae, Mr. Mudd, and other former Fannie Mae officials. The claims against Mr. Mudd in those cases were dismissed with prejudice although Mr. Mudd never was a settling defendant.
• Led the successful defense of Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corporation, its full Board of Directors, CEO and CFO in response to state and federal securities and derivative litigation arising out of a stock price drop in cases filed in Maryland state court and in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.*
• Defended UBS AG, UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services Inc. in global government investigations involving Auction Rate Securities and in defense of federal securities litigation filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was the first of its kind to be dismissed with prejudice.*
• Led the investigation in ten countries on behalf of a multinational pharmaceutical company into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, and analogous local law provisions.*
• Led the successful defense of Maryland-based Arbitron,Inc., its full Board of Directors, CEO, CFO and other senior officers in connection with state and federal securities, ERISA and derivative litigation filed in Maryland state court and the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.*
• Represented the full Board of Worldcom Inc. in federal securities litigation filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was settled on the eve of trial.*
• Obtained dismissal of private securities class action for Antonio Mon, former CEO of TOUSA, Inc. involving a disappointed lender to TOUSA, and represented Mr. Mon in a state court action and an adversary case brought by creditors of TOUSA against the board and senior officers.*
• Representing a large commodities trading company that traded in various commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade in investigations brought by the CFTC, US Attorney’s office and a regulatory organization regarding a speculative trading position scheme.
• Representing the CEO of a publicly-traded enterprise in the course of an investigation being conducted by the SEC and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
• Defending LimoLink, Inc., a nationwide service that provides limousines for travelers, in a class action related to employment classification and benefits.
• Defending the former CFO of LyondellBasell in connection with an adversary proceeding pending in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented the Board of Directors of a publicly-traded oil services company in the conduct of an internal investigation involving potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act arising out of the company’s activities in Asia.*
• Defended former senior executive of UBS in global government investigations involving LIBOR.*
• Obtained favorable results for AMEC plc in several matters, including investigations involving the DOJ and EPA.*
• Obtained dismissal of civil claims for a nationwide ambulance service company in a qui tam suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act and retaliatory discharge claims. Successfully defended the company in the related government investigation in which the government declined to intervene in the qui tam action. Represented the company in an unrelated Federal Election Commission investigation in which the government ultimately decided not to pursue any action against the company.*
• Obtained favorable result for Capital One in a suit filed in the US District Court for the District of Idaho for breach of contract and related claims.*
• Represented a large venture capital fund in a multi-year investigation by the New York Attorney General into “pay to play” allegations centering on the head of the New York State common pension fund.*
• Represented certain members of the Board of Directors of Calpine, a natural gas energy company, in connection with adversary proceedings filed in Calpine’s bankruptcy.*
• Led the multi-year representation in Laidlaw in cross-border bankruptcy and adversary proceedings in Toronto, Ontario and the US District Court for the Western District of New York, as well as in additional related litigation.*
• Obtained favorable result for Textron Financial in connection with investigations by US Department of Housing and Urban Development and certain state agencies concerning the Interstate Land Sales Act and state law unfair trade practices acts related to the activities of certain finance companies before they were acquired by Textron.*
• Led the representation of Entergy Corporation in connection with a series of government investigations and in the breakup of the proposed merger with Florida Power and Light.*
• Represented Progress Energy in connection with United States Senate investigations into tax treatment afforded to synthetic coal.*

*These representations took place during Mr. Wareham’s time associated with another law firm prior to his arrival at Fried Frank.