But nearly a year after Mr. Cacheris became involved, no agreement appears imminent, and government officials said the negotiations remained at an early stage. Cacheris would not comment to the Times about the case, but Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the ACLU also representing Snowden said, “He would cooperate in extraordinary ways in the right circumstances. But he does not believe that the ‘felon’ label is the right word for someone whose act of conscience has revitalized democratic oversight of the intelligence community and is leading to historic reforms.” 
 
 Among Cacheris’s past clients is Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia in 2001. He negotiated a plea deal for a life sentence, sparing Mr. Hanssen the death penalty and allowing his wife to collect part of his pension.
– Last summer, hoping to strike a plea deal with the US, Edward Snowden lawyered up: The former NSA contractor had leading espionage lawyer Plato Cacheris on retainer, insiders tell the New York Times. "Snowden is interested in returning home," says another of his lawyers, Ben Wizner of the ACLU. "He would cooperate in extraordinary ways in the right circumstances." Cacheris has represented big names like Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent and spy for the Soviet Union who avoided the death penalty in a plea deal, the Wire notes. For Snowden, there hasn't been much progress on a bargain with prosecutors, the Times notes; he could still face 30 or more years in jail.