James M. McDonald

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James M. McDonald is an American lawyer and former government official who served as the director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from April 2017 to October 2020. He currently serves as a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
== Early Life and Education ==
McDonald is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Harvard College and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
== Career ==
Before joining the CFTC, McDonald served as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was a member of the public corruption unit. He also worked in private practice at Williams & Connolly LLP and served as a deputy associate counsel in the Office of White House Counsel under President George W. Bush.
McDonald clerked for John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, and Jeffrey S. Sutton, Jr., Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
=== CFTC Enforcement Director ===
He succeeded Aitan Goelman as director of the Division of Enforcement of the CFTC. Goelman stepped down in February of 2017.
As Director of Enforcement at the CFTC, McDonald led the agency's efforts to detect, investigate, and prosecute violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. During his tenure, he focused on five main priorities:
* Preserving market integrity
* Protecting customers
* Promoting individual accountability
* Enhancing coordination with other regulators and criminal authorities
* Increasing transparency in operations
Under McDonald's leadership, the CFTC's Division of Enforcement achieved record-breaking results in fiscal year 2020, filing more enforcement actions and obtaining more monetary relief than any other year in the agency's history.
McDonald led CFTC investigators through numerous market manipulation cases, including one against JPMorgan Chase and Co. in which the firm agreed to pay the U.S. government nearly $1 billion in fines and disgorgement to settle spoofing charges. 
=== Role in the Prosecution of Jitesh Thakkar ===
McDonald, as the director of the Enforcement Division at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2017 to 2020, played a significant role in the controversial prosecution of Jitesh Thakkar, a software developer accused of aiding and abetting spoofing activities.
The case against Thakkar was notable as it marked the first time a non-trader software developer was charged in connection with spoofing activities. Under McDonald's leadership, the CFTC pursued civil charges against Thakkar and his company, Edge Financial Technologies, even after the Department of Justice dropped criminal charges following a jury trial that ended in a mistrial.
The prosecution of Thakkar was controversial within the trading industry, with many viewing it as an overreach by the CFTC. Critics argued that the case could set a dangerous precedent for software developers in the financial industry.
Despite the controversy, McDonald and the CFTC continued to pursue the case until September 2020, when all charges against Thakkar were dismissed with prejudice, and a settlement was reached with Edge Financial Technologies.
=== Post-CFTC Career ===
After leaving the CFTC in October 2020, McDonald joined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as a partner in January 2021. His practice focuses on advising clients on regulatory enforcement matters, white-collar criminal matters, and internal investigations.
=== Academic Roles ===
McDonald has served as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, where he taught Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Foreign Relations Law, and Supreme Court Decision-making. He has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and serves as an adviser to the American Law Institute.
== References ==	
Category:Lawyers
Category:Professors
Category:U.S. Department of Justice - Former Employees
Category:Williams & Connolly LLP - Former Employees