McGuireWoods Adds Veteran Federal Prosecutor

NORFOLK, Va. – Benjamin L. Hatch, who supervised high-profile criminal and national security cases as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, has joined McGuireWoods’ Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Department as a partner in the firm’s Norfolk, Virginia, office.

Hatch — a former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2007, most recently serving as managing assistant U.S. attorney and criminal chief for the Norfolk division.

Last year, Hatch prosecuted a Navy civilian engineer who was sentenced to 132 months in prison for attempted espionage for trying to provide schematics of the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier to Egypt. He also tried numerous cases against MS-13 gang members, which included a conspiracy to commit murder conviction and 10-year sentence for one of its leaders. Hatch has won nine cases before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 2014, then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder presented Hatch and three colleagues with the John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation — the Justice Department’s highest attorney honor devoted to trial work — for securing the convictions of Somali pirates who captured and killed four Americans aboard the sailboat Quest in 2011.

Hatch earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He has served as an adjunct professor at the College of William and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law and mentors the appellate moot court team.

“Ben is a highly respected and accomplished lawyer who has excelled in handling complex, high-stakes matters, including cases with international implications,” said John Adams, chair of the firm’s Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Department. “It’s a real coup for us to add an attorney of his caliber to our nationally recognized team, which includes at least 20 former federal prosecutors.”

John Padgett, managing partner of the firm’s Norfolk office, said, “Ben strengthens our client service capabilities in Norfolk. His trial skills are known throughout the Eastern District of Virginia and his litigation and government investigations experience will have immense benefits for the firm and our clients.”

“McGuireWoods has a world class white-collar practice with a deep bench of talented lawyers, and I’m excited to work with them,” Hatch said. “I’m very familiar with the firm and its reputation for excellent client service, and I look forward to contributing in every way I can.”

McGuireWoods was ranked among the world’s top 40 investigations firms in 2015’s GIR 100, a guide to leading cross-border investigations practices based on independent research byGlobal Investigations Review. In addition, Law360 named McGuireWoods a 2014 “White Collar Group of the Year.”

McGuireWoods LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 23 offices worldwide. The firm ranks sixth out of more than 300 on BTI Consulting’s “Client Service A-Team” — elite firms singled out for client service excellence based on unprompted feedback from clients in major companies. Its full-service public affairs arm,McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, offers infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots advocacy, and government relations solutions. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com.