Snell & Wilmer Partner James Melendres Recognized by National Law Journal as General Litigation Trailblazer

PHOENIX - Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that Phoenix partner James Melendres has been named to the National Law Journal’s list of General Litigation Trailblazers. The award recognizes agents of change who have moved the needle in the legal industry.

Firm chair Barb Dawson stated, "We are delighted to see James receiving such well-deserved recognition. He is an extraordinary trial lawyer and we are so pleased to have him as a teammate helping to solve the most challenging of client issues in matters across the country."
 
Melendres has blazed a leadership trail at Snell & Wilmer, where he is one of the Practice Group Leaders for the Commercial Litigation Practice firm-wide and chairs the Investigations, Government Enforcement and White Collar Protection Practice as well as the Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Privacy practice. In 2022, he obtained a full acquittal for a former CEO in a six-week federal criminal trial in a case charging his client with a $30+ million fraud scheme. He regularly conducts internal investigations for companies, boards, and non-profit organizations, including one of the universities referenced in the DOJ’s “Varsity Blues” college admissions investigation and a professional sports organization regarding alleged violations of league rules. Melendres also advises companies on responding to sophisticated cyber-attacks and data breaches. He has appeared on CBS, CNBC and MSNBC and been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, among other publications.