Jim Walden

James Walden (born January 19, 1966) is an American lawyer.

Walden received his B.A. from Hamilton College. He graduated magna cum laude from Temple University School of Law in 1991 where he was first in his class.

Following law school, Walden clerked for Anthony J. Scirica in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Walden then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

He served in this capacity for nearly nine years before turning to private practice.

U.S. Customs authorities conducted the then-largest seizure of heroin in U.S. history on June 20, 1991, in Hayward, California.

Approximately three-quarters of a ton of heroin was seized with a street value of $2.5-$3 billion.

After serving in the U.S Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1993 to 2002, he entered private practice where he was involved in several prominent white-collar and antitrust cases in addition to a series of cases seeking governmental reform.

He represents Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory.

At one time Walden represented former UFC Lightweight champion Conor McGregor in McGregor's pending court case for felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor assault in Brooklyn, NY.

Walden has represented plaintiffs in class action lawsuits suits against the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Housing Authority.

He served as Special Counsel to a task force created by the Governor of New Jersey to investigate the administration of the state's tax incentive programs.

Walden also successfully prosecuted Chris Paciello, aka Chris Ludwigsen, for his 1993 murder of Staten Island housewife Judith Shemtov killed during a robbery Paciello had planned in association with the Bonanno crime family.

Li was indicted in U.S. District Court in May 1996.

Following his work prosecuting heroin traffickers, Walden brought cases against members and associates of New York's most prominent Mafia families.

This included testimony that Alphonse Persico plotted with Paciello in 1997 to kill a dissident mafioso.

The identification of two made members of the Bonanno family ultimately led to the take-down of the entire crime organization.

In October 1999, Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, head of the Colombo crime family, was arrested on charges of loansharking.

Walden helped build the cases against Persico.

Paciello turned himself in after murder charge were filed in November 1999.

He pleaded guilty to those charges on October 13, 2000.

Paciello only served a six-year sentence, Walden won guilty pleas from nearly 20 people related to the Shemtov murder.

Benjamin Brafman, Paciello's attorney, "estimated that 'more than 70 people' had been prosecuted directly and indirectly as a result of [Paciello's] cooperation'".

These charges resurfaced in 2001, when Persico was indicted in Brooklyn the same day he completed a 15-month prison sentence on weapons charges in Florida.

In 2001, Walden led the successful prosecution of Anthony Spero, a soldier and one-time acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, on murder and racketeering charges.

Spero was convicted on April 5, 2001, of ordering three murders during his 20 years serving the family.

Walden's work prosecuting organized crime was profiled in the New York Times and featured in a documentary filmed by National Geographic.

Following his work at the Department of Justice, in 2002 Walden entered private practice as a partner at O'Melveney & Myers LLP.

Walden spent three years as a partner with O'Melveny & Myers LLP before joining the New York office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in 2006.

He spent nearly four years there before joining Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in 2006.

Walden co-chaired Gibson Dunn's White Collar-Criminal Defense & Investigations practice in addition to leading the office's pro bono efforts.

While a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Walden, along with F. Joseph Warin, successfully represented Joseph Cassano, the CEO of AIG's Financial Products unit, for his alleged role in the 2008 financial crisis.

U.S. Department of Justice investigators and prosecutors conducted an investigation into whether Cassano deliberately withheld information from investors and auditors.

Walden utilized a proactive defense strategy by engaging prosecutors early in the process to present evidence, rather than engaging the public.

Neither the Department of Justice nor the Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately brought charges against Cassano.

In 2015, Walden left Gibson Dunn to found Walden Macht & Haran LLP with fellow former prosecutors Timothy Macht and Sean Haran.

While an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, Walden led the prosecution of Li Yun-chung, a significant figure in an international heroin ring.

In 2015, Walden started his own firm, Walden Macht & Haran LLP.

The firm was founded with a focus on white-collar criminal defense, civil litigation and investigations.

The firm also gave Walden a platform to continue representing advocacy and community groups.

Walden appears in a 2018 "Vanity Fair Confidential" episode discussing the Shemtov murder and the Paciello prosecution and is cited extensively in the book Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture.