Leading Government Enforcement Lawyer James P. Dowden Joins Ropes & Gray

BOSTON (January 3, 2012)—Ropes & Gray announced today that James P. Dowden, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and a former associate at Ropes & Gray, is returning to the firm as a partner in the government enforcement practice in the firm’s Boston office.

Mr. Dowden’s experience as a federal prosecutor coupled with his work as a defense attorney gives him an uncommon perspective on white collar cases. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Dowden investigated and prosecuted high-profile individual and corporate defendants facing securities and accounting fraud, tax fraud, government benefits fraud, health care/insurance fraud and complex mortgage fraud cases. Mr. Dowden also investigated and tried a series of high-profile public corruption cases, including several cases against elected public officials and a large-scale campaign finance case against a major corporation and that company’s founder.

“The acumen Jim gained as a federal prosecutor will enhance our government enforcement practice’s depth and perspective on critical and complex white collar criminal matters,” said Colleen Conry, co-chair of the firm’s government enforcement practice. “We truly are delighted he is returning to the firm.”

After serving a clerkship on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Dowden was an associate in Ropes & Gray’s government enforcement practice from 2001 until 2007, interrupted by a one-year clerkship with Justice Stephen G. Breyer at the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2004 term of the Court. As an associate at Ropes & Gray, Mr. Dowden represented academic medical centers, major investment banking firms, pharmaceutical companies and individuals in investigations by the Department of Justice.

In 2007, Mr. Dowden joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts in Boston in the economic crimes and public corruption units where he investigated, prosecuted and served as trial counsel on a wide variety of fraud matters.

“Understanding how a prosecutor builds a case allows you to be proactive in responding to it,” Mr. Dowden said. “And by being proactive, you can address these matters before they become a criminal or business-critical issue.”

Mr. Dowden will focus his practice on clients in the commercial banking, securities and pharmaceutical sectors along with some appellate work given his experience as a clerk at the Supreme Court and as a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. “It helps knowing how appellate courts see cases and how we can focus our resources on behalf of our clients,” he said.

He graduated Boston College magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and English; he graduated Boston College Law School first in his class, earning him the James W. Smith Award.

Ropes & Gray is a leading global law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers and professionals in 10 offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm’s government enforcement practice has handled some of the most complicated white collar matters facing its clients, which include financial institutions; national and international investment advisors; defense contractors; pharmaceutical manufacturers; hospitals; physician groups; banks; software companies; and other businesses and individuals.