James helps clients solve a variety of business, legal, and regulatory problems. James’ experience spans the lifecycle of businesses and nonprofits, from the courtroom to the board room. As a former general counsel, his practice involves litigation, intellectual property, complex commercial transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment.

James litigates patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, and complex commercial disputes. His litigation work includes serving as lead counsel in trials and appeals, pre-suit investigation, discovery, corporate investigations, and dispositive motions. James also has experience working on a variety of transactions, including mergers, asset sales, in-licenses, out-licenses, joint ventures, and collaboration agreements. Clients that engage James benefit from this broad-based, practical, business-oriented experience.

James draws on significant experience in both the health care and life sciences industries to lead Envisage Law’s Health Care and Life Sciences practice. A biomedical engineer, he understands medical technology from a product developer’s perspective, and the technical, commercial, and regulatory considerations that inform product development. Before going to law school, James worked as a management consultant to health insurers, health care providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and medical device companies. He served as in-house general counsel of an established life sciences company, advising on legal issues related to developing, manufacturing, distributing, marketing, and selling prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics.

James served as a Deputy General Counsel at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and as Chief Counsel of the Food and Drug Administration under President Donald J. Trump. While serving at HHS during the COVID-19 pandemic, James worked with senior Department leaders on a variety of matters confronting the American people, including regulatory reform and drug pricing. This government service experience gives James a unique perspective on the federal Administrative Procedure Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Among his litigation victories, James served as lead counsel for independent journalist and former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson in his lawsuit against Twitter. A path-breaking case, Mr. Berenson’s lawsuit led to his reinstatement on the platform, the first known reinstatement of its kind. National outlets including Revolver News, Breitbart, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic have reported on the case, and the outcome has been discussed on national podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience and TimCast.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, James earned his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, magna cum laude, from North Carolina State University, and Juris Doctor with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law where he served as an Articles Editor on the North Carolina Law Review. While in law school, James served as a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Paul M. Newby on the North Carolina Supreme Court.