The U.S. Senate has confirmed McGuireWoods partner Kenneth D. Bell to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Bell leaves the firm May 31 after a decade in its Charlotte office.
President Donald Trump nominated Bell in 2018 at the recommendation of U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Before joining McGuireWoods in 2009, Bell was a federal prosecutor in North Carolina’s Western District for 18 years, including a decade as first assistant U.S. attorney. He tried criminal cases and was counsel of record in more than 100 cases before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve on the bench in the Western District of North Carolina,” Bell said. “I am grateful to my McGuireWoods colleagues for their friendship and support during my 10 years here. It has been a wonderful experience belonging to a team of talented and dedicated lawyers.”
A member of McGuireWoods’ nationally recognized Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department, Bell’s practice focused on white-collar defense and business-related investigations.
He has been the court-appointed receiver since 2012 in the ZeekRewards Ponzi scheme, which involved more individual victims than any other in U.S. history. He helped recover approximately $371 million and returned nearly $345 million to victims of the scheme. McGuireWoods partner Matthew Orso has been appointed to succeed Bell as receiver of ZeekRewards’ recovered assets.
“Ken’s distinguished career as a federal prosecutor and trial lawyer has prepared him to be an outstanding U.S. district judge,” said McGuireWoods Chairman Jonathan P. Harmon. “We thank him for his dedicated service to our clients over the past 10 years and wish him the best.”