NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 04, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Butler Snow is pleased to announce Jim Letten – a former U.S. Attorney currently serving as an assistant dean of experiential learning at the Tulane University Law School – has joined the firm as of counsel in the New Orleans office. He will bolster the firm’s team of other former federal prosecutors, and expand its office in the Crescent City.
Letten was appointed U.S. Attorney by President George W. Bush in 2005 and asked to retain the position by President Barack Obama. Prior to stepping down in 2012, he had been the longest-serving U.S. Attorney in the nation and one of only three U.S. Attorneys in the country appointed to the position by successive presidents from different parties. Letten will work with the firm’s investigations and white collar crimes Group, and consult on a variety of defenses including criminal and regulatory investigations, government audits and civil fraud cases. He will also work on international trade and regulatory issues. Letten will continue in his role as Assistant Dean at Tulane Law School.
“Jim is a respected prosecutor, and had a very successful track record as U.S. Attorney,” said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. “He is well known across Louisiana, the Southeast and throughout the nation. His leadership in investigations and white collar crime, depth in complex business law matters and prosecution on the state and federal level will add significant value to the firm as we grow in New Orleans and nationwide.”
Letten joins former U.S. Attorney James B. Tucker, former Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen C. Parker and Jonathan T. Skrmetti at Butler Snow. Each of these attorneys bring decades of investigative and trial experience, allowing the group to provide clients with independent, credible internal investigations of allegations of wrongdoing in a wide range of corporate functions.
Butler Snow’s investigations and white collar crime group represents clients, in both the state and federal arenas, in white collar defense cases and investigations that have become both more intense and more complex. The group works primarily on the defense of criminal and regulatory matters, including matters involving allegations of fraud, tax and financial violations, criminal contempt, RICO violations, and environmental violations.
Butler Snow’s growing presence in Louisiana, with offices in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge, also offers extensive practices in public finance, tax credits, real estate, commercial litigation, administrative law, bankruptcy and restructuring, and environmental law.
Prior to his appointment as U.S, Attorney, Letten was first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also served as a trial attorney and chief of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force in New Orleans. Letten was an assistant district attorney in New Orleans from 1980-82 and 1985-1986.
Letten is a member of the Federal Bar Association and the Louisiana Bar Association. He serves as vice-chair of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission board, is a board member of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation and Crimestoppers New Orleans, and an advisory board member of Court Watch New Orleans.
He is a retired Navy commander and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agent. Letten received a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Orleans and Juris Doctor from Tulane University School of Law.
About Butler Snow
Butler Snow LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys representing local, regional, national and international clients from 17 U.S. offices and an office in London. Ranked as one of America’s Top 100 law firms in the BTI Power Rankings, Butler Snow is recognized as one of the nation’s top law firms for client service. The firm was recently ranked 48th out of 650 firms in the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for understanding our client’s business, anticipating client’s needs, unprompted communication, legal skills, quality and keeping clients informed. For more information, visit www.butlersnow.com or follow Butler Snow on twitter @Butler_Snow.