Biography: Jim Belanger practices White Collar and Criminal Defense, Lawyer Liability and Discipline including State Bar matters, Death Penalty Defense, and Commercial and Bankruptcy Litigation. 

His cases, including several complex civil and criminal trials, have involved securities violations, mortgage and bank fraud, antitrust violations, RICO, health care fraud, qui tam and False Claims Act violations, various civil, criminal and administrative environmental claims, bankruptcy fraud and Chapter 11 adversary proceedings, allegations of consumer fraud and predatory lending, parallel proceedings, first degree and capital murder, forfeiture, government and internal investigations, special prosecution for state regulators, and professional and licensee misconduct including State bar matters.

Mr. Belanger is an adjunct Professor of Law at Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law where he teaches White Collar Criminal Process. Before joining the firm, he was a Partner in the Phoenix office of Lewis and Roca LLP, where he was the Chair of the Criminal Defense and Government Investigations Group.

Mr. Belanger is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and is featured in Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Commercial Litigation, White-Collar Criminal Defense and Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense; Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers in the category of White Collar Criminal Defense and Government Investigations,  and Southwest Super Lawyers in the categories of White Collar Criminal Defense and Professional Liability Defense.

Practice Areas:  White Collar Criminal and Administrative Defense; Professional Liability; Death Penalty Defense; Criminal Defense; Commercial Litigation

Admissions:
Bars: Arizona (1987).
Courts: U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona; All state courts in Arizona.

Education:
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA (B.A., with honors, 1981)
Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe, AZ (J.D., with honors, 1987)

Professional Associations, Awards and Honors: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice; Member of Brandeis University’s only NCAA National Championship soccer team and two time captain-elect and Most Valuable Player; Two time inductee into Brandeis University’s Hall of Fame; State Director of Arizona Special Olympics Soccer from 1983 to 2000; Board Member, Special Olympics Arizona, 2006 to 2008.

Publications:
-  Author, "Trail Dog and the Tao Te Ching (Honor, Ethical Rules and a Way of Life)" The Defender, Fall 2007.

-  Author and presenter, "Leadership, Ethics and Honor," State Bar of Arizona, VLP (2008).

-  Author, "ETHICS: A Capital Case Conundrum," The Defender, Spring 2007.

- Author, "Ephemeral Letters of Transit: Responding to Government Requests for Electronically Stored Information," American Bar Association - Section on Litigation, Winter 2007.

- Author, "A Practical Guide to Remediation, Disclosure and Cooperation in the Context of Corporate Misconduct," American Bar Association - Section on Litigation, Summer 2005.

-  Co-Author, "Seeking Attorney's Fees in Criminal Cases," Arizona Attorney, April 2001.

-  Author, "Compliance Plans and Criminal Law Issues in Medicare Billing," presentation at the Billing and Reimbursement Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 8-9, 2000.

-  Co-Author, "Arizona Law Where Ground and Surface Water Meet," 20 Arizona State Law Journal 657, 1988.

Reported Cases:  State v. Fulminate, 193 Ariz. 485, 975 P.2d 75 (1999); Wallace v. Stewart, 184 F.3d 1112 (1999); State v. Peek (Ariz. 2008); State ex rel. Thomas v. Rayes, 214 Ariz. 411, 153 P.3d 1040 (2007)

Birth Place: Philadelphia, PA

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