A partner in the Litigation Department and co-chair of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group, Melinda Haag is widely recognized as among the nation’s leading trial lawyers. Over more than three decades, Melinda has led or co-led more than 20 jury and bench trials, including complex white collar and civil rights cases, and has handled numerous white collar criminal matters, corporate investigations and complex commercial litigations. Melinda has long represented companies and their boards in law enforcement and multi-regulator investigations and in internal investigations, as well as senior executives in connection with government and internal investigations. Clients have described Melinda as “one of the best white collar lawyers in practice right now” and the lawyer that they “like to bring the thorniest cases.”
Melinda has had a distinguished career in public service. During her five-year tenure as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, she spearheaded numerous high-profile investigations and prosecutions. Earlier, Melinda served for nine years as a federal prosecutor, ultimately being tapped by then-U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller as Chief of the White Collar section of the San Francisco office.
Melinda has handled a wide variety of significant litigations and government and internal investigations, including matters concerning securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, trade secret theft, bribery, antitrust, FCPA, environmental, civil rights, defense contractor fraud, health care fraud and money laundering.
Successfully defended an engineering company senior executive in connection with a federal criminal Grand Jury investigation where no criminal charges or civil enforcement actions were brought.
Successfully defended at trial the former general counsel of a publicly traded software company charged with federal criminal securities law violations.
Winning the acquittal, on all counts, of a former FitBit executive in a high-profile criminal theft of trade secrets trial brought by federal prosecutors in San Francisco.
Securing the complete acquittal of the CFO of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in a federal criminal securities trial.
- The former marketing director of a Fortune 100 biotechnology company in a grand jury investigation concerning off-label promotion in which no criminal charges were filed.
- Securities
- White collar crime
- Litigation
- Internal Investigations
- National Security & CFIUS
- Investigations
- Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
- Technology
- J.D. - University of California, Berkeley School of Law - 1987
- B.A - Political Science, University of California, San Diego - 1983
- California
- District of Clumbia