Former Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Phil Selden is a member of the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense & Government Investigations and Litigation Departments and resident in the D.C. office.

EXPERIENCE

Mr. Selden most recently served as the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all federal criminal prosecutions and the litigation of all civil matters in the District of Maryland.  Mr. Selden supervised a staff of more than 200 personnel for a District of more than six million residents. Prior to assuming the role of Acting United States Attorney, Mr. Selden served as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.

During his 15-year career as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Selden investigated and prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including fraud, national security, cybercrime, public corruption, and money laundering matters. Those matters include fraud by corporate entities and senior executives, healthcare fraud, cybercrime, procurement fraud, ransomware intrusions, the theft of intellectual property, international export controls violations, terrorism financing, corrupt public and elected officials, money laundering, transnational and organized crime, racketeering, false statements and obstruction of justice.  Mr. Selden also supervised a number of corporate resolutions, trials and significant civil settlements including False Claims Act violations. He has served as the first chair federal prosecutor for more than 20 jury trials.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Selden worked at an international law firm where he handled complex commercial litigation and white collar matters on behalf of Fortune 500 companies.

Networks & Affiliations

Mr. Selden is a frequent speaker on emerging legal trends and at various law schools including service as an adjunct faculty member at Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, George Washington University Law School, Howard University School of Law and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Mr. Selden has also served a faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

EDUCATION

Mr. Selden received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, magna cum laude, in the Government Department’s Honors Program.  He also was a member of the Georgetown varsity Track and Field Team.  Mr. Selden received his Master’s Degree in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, a Tony Patiño Fellow, and a Paula Jewell Fellow.

Honors & Awards

Mr. Selden’s work has been recognized with awards from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Social Security Administration, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the New York City Police Department.  In 2020, he was named the Homeland Security Investigations Prosecutor of the Year award for his efforts in prosecuting domestic and international corruption.