James Loonam appointed Chair of New York City Bar's White Collar Crime Committee
James Loonam, a partner at Jones Day in New York, has been appointed Chair of the New York City Bar Association's White Collar Crime Committee, effective September 1, 2025.
Founded in 1870, the New York City Bar Association is a voluntary association with more than 20,000 members. The work of its influential White Collar Crime Committee aims to improve the administration of justice and shape public policy on the local, state, national, and international levels. The Committee also organizes the New York City Bar's annual White Collar Institute.
Mr. Loonam is a former federal prosecutor and experienced trial lawyer who regularly advises companies and senior executives in investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He recently led the Firm's trial team representing Gordon Coburn, the former president of Cognizant Technology, who was charged by DOJ for alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. After more than six years of litigation, Jones Day obtained a rare dismissal with prejudice of the entire federal indictment against Mr. Coburn.
Mr. Loonam also represented Sheldon Silver, former speaker of the New York State Assembly, on appeal and at resentencing in a high-profile public corruption case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York. The Firm did not represent Mr. Silver at trial, where he was convicted of various public corruption offenses. Jones Day obtained a precedent-setting reversal of three convictions, a reduction of more than $3 million in the forfeiture previously imposed at sentencing, and a reduced term of incarceration.
Mr. Loonam is on the board of directors for the Office of the Appellate Defender, one of New York City's oldest providers of appellate representation to indigent defendants convicted of felonies. He is a member of Jones Day's Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement and Investigations & White Collar Defense practices.
