James B. Moorhead

Partner

• jmoorhead@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Mr. Moorhead is a litigation partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the Corporate, Securities and Finance practice group.  He co-chairs the Crisis Management practice group and is head of the Class Action practice group.  For nearly two decades, he has handled complex civil and criminal matters, including trials, appeals, mediations, and settlements.  He has first-chaired over 25 complex civil and criminal jury trials and litigated a wide range of cases, including class actions, securities, RICO, professional malpractice, wrongful death, and employment discrimination. 

He regularly conducts corporate internal investigations.  He can act as independent counsel in internal investigations for companies, boards of directors, audit committees, or special litigation committees.  He has experience designing and reviewing corporate compliance programs from an in-house and outside counsel perspective. He also has litigated on behalf of and counseled insurers on coverage disputes relating to a variety of policies, including errors and omissions and D&O policies.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Moorhead was a federal prosecutor in Baltimore and an investment banker in New York City.  He recently served as chief financial officer and general counsel of an emerging growth company.  His financial background has led to his representation of lenders, investment advisors, and other litigants in securities and other complex business transactions cases.

Highlights of his litigation experience include:

• National counsel to financial services company against pending class action and individual lawsuits involving RICO, fraud, and other state law claims brought by clients who participated in alleged tax shelters. 
  
• Counsel to securities brokerage firm against securities fraud claims brought by the National Credit Union Administration, the regulator of federal credit unions.  The claims revolved around a now-defunct institution’s purchases of collateralized mortgage obligations.  The Court entered a take-nothing summary judgment for Mr. Moorhead’s client.  
  
• Counsel to insurance carrier in action against directors and officers of bankrupt construction company.  The claims asserted the defendants had failed to report upon and oversee properly the company’s operations prior to its bankruptcy filing.  The case settled satisfactorily to the insurer.
  
• Counsel to various lenders against a series of class actions brought regarding collateral protection insurance.  All cases were settled on terms very favorable to the clients, effectively ending this type of class action litigation.
  
• Represented law firm partners in malpractice/fraud action arising out of BCCI/First American affair.  The litigation settled satisfactorily to the clients.

Mr. Moorhead is a frequent television commentator on major civil and criminal trials.  He also has spoken and written extensively on various legal and business issues, including internal investigations, litigation prevention, and maximizing shareholder value.

Select News & Events

• Steptoe Launches Subprime Lending Litigation Team
• In-House Attorneys as Gatekeepers
• Moorhead Rejoins Our Washington Office
• Jim Moorhead Moderates Panel on Internal Investigations at NAWL Annual Meeting, July 18, 2006

Publications

• Corporate Fraud Defense Report (Vol 1 No 6)
  June 2006
• Corporate Fraud Defense Report (Vol 1 No 5)
  May 2006
• Corporate Fraud Defense Report (Vol 1 No 4)
  April 2006
• To Conduct or Not Conduct an Internal Investigation
  June 2000, Corporate Legal Times (now Inside Counsel)

Professional Affiliations

• Served as an Assistant US Attorney in Maryland for three years (focused on prosecuting political and labor corruption cases)
• Member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, and has spoken and written extensively on legal and business issues, including litigation prevention and the maximization of shareholder value