High-Profile Conspiracy Cases: It was JIM BURDICK who successfully represented the chief suspect in the tragic kidnaping and murder of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. Though his client was innocent, public and media hysteria pushed federal investigators to find a scapegoat. An otherwise deadly series of coincidences and misunderstandings propelled very aggressive F.B.I. investigators who, because of the intense media scrutiny and enormous public pressure, were intent on bringing charges against his client for a murder he didn't commit. Only Jim's steadfast and smart representation made the government back off and search for the real culprits.
Highest Profile Murder: In the Jenny Jones Murder Trial, only Jim's steady hand and relentless pursuit of the truth saved his client from a First Degree Murder conviction and a sentence of life imprisonment with no hope of parole. Despite a taped confession to 911 operators and to police, Jim was able to convince the jury to return a verdict of the far lesser offense of Second Degree, resulting in a sentence that will set his client free while he is still a young man.
Drugs and Money Laundering: After a hard-fought high-profile drug conspiracy trial in Kansas, while the jury convicted Jim Burdick's client, Burdick's relentless forward charge in behalf of his client resulted in a reversal and dismissal of the charges by the United States Court of Appeals which ruled that the trial judge should have granted Jim's motion to dismiss.
I.R.S. Fraud Investigations: A major Michigan business was being vigorously investigated for tax fraud, and Jim Burdick represented one of the employees. Even though the attorney representing senior corporate officers antagonized all the government officials, it was Jim who was able to bring calm to the situation, and to convince both the Internal Revenue Service and the government lawyers that no criminal conduct had occurred, saving the company from likely collapse from just the media scrutiny even a criminal charge would have brought.
Drug Conspiracies: In a highly-charged interstate drug conspiracy trial, and despite extensive photos of Jim Burdick's client in a Post Office taping together a package which was later found to contain a huge quantity of narcotics, and even though all of the other defendants pled guilty, Jim was able to win an outright acquittal for his client by proving that federal agents had lied during their testimony.
White Collar Crime: In a three-week long trial in Detroit federal court, Jim Burdick's client faced a vigorous prosecution, a turncoat witness and thirteen separate and highly inflammatory recorded conversations in which the client all but confessed to conducting a high-interest (4% per week!) loan sharking operation, Jim was still able to win an acquittal on all nine counts, conviction of any one of which would have sent his client to federal prison for ten years or more.
Healthcare: JIM BURDICK carefully and skillfully creates individualized programs for personal rehabilitation and redemption leading to always successful petitions for reinstatement of health care provider licenses. Burdick has achieved nearly 100% success in obtaining reinstatements, even when clients have had multiple disciplines or multiple criminal convictions. He has successfully represented physicians, nurses, dentists and pharmacists who have developed substance abuse problems and has always either kept their licenses for them, or succeeded in winning reinstatement in every case. Jim represents clients in Blue Cross de-participation and re-participation actions, in United States Department of Health and Human Services (Medicare-Medicaid) exclusion and reinstatement litigation, as well as the discipline and license matters.
Additional Accomplishments
- A pharmacist confessed to stealing $10,000 in drugs, but Jim Burdick got the criminal
charges of embezzlement dismissed and avoided any license sanctions by proving the confession was false and had been coerced.
- An innocent doctor accused of ignoring a post-operative patient who died in recovery. Jim Burdick saved him from losing his license.
- A horse breeder was acquitted of loan sharking because of Jim Burdick's trial skills.
- A nurse was accused of stealing a medical device . . . Jim Burdick saved her license
with only a reprimand.
- A California executive won an acquittal on federal drug conspiracy charges because
she hired Jim Burdick to defend her at trial.
- A pharmacist accused of "losing" 9,000 opiates . . . Jim Burdick saved his pharmacy
license.
- An athletic coach was falsely accused of sexual conduct, but Jim Burdick proved he
was innocent, and got the charges dismissed.
- A police officer was found Not Guilty in federal court on charges of corruption, because Jim Burdick defended him at trial.
- A nurse failed to properly record a TB test and was fired from her hospital . . . Jim
Burdick saved her license with only a minor reprimand.
- A man indicted for money laundering won a dismissal of charges in a Kansas federal
court on appeal, because of Jim Burdick's trial skills.
- A nurse accused of altering a medical record kept her license with no discipline
because of Jim Burdick's expertise and aggressive pursuit of justice.
- A man charged with counterfeiting avoided federal criminal charges because of Jim
Burdick's hard work.
- Despite three drunk driving convictions, the license of another pharmacist falsely
accused of stealing drugs, was saved by Jim Burdick who got the criminal charges
dismissed.
- A dentist dispensing narcotics from his office without a license . . . kept his dental
license because he had Jim Burdick in his corner.
- A defendant's date rape charges were dismissed, only because of Jim Burdick's
diligence in proving the truth.
- An NBA star involved in a huge brawl at a basketball game was saved from a jail
sentence by Jim Burdick's diligence.