James Barrett is a Stakeholder at Eimer Stahl, where he handles a wide range of complex litigation and disputes, including commercial litigation, class actions, antitrust litigation, civil rights litigation, civil enforcement actions, and multidistrict litigation. James represents clients in federal and state courts in all phases of litigation, including drafting pleadings, dispositive motions, and other briefs, as well as handling all aspects of discovery, pretrial proceedings, and appeals.
James previously served as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Georgia. In that role, he helped coordinate the state’s litigation strategy, drafted briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, Georgia Supreme Court, and U.S. Courts of Appeals, and argued cases before the Supreme Court of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Among other cases, James secured a reversal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit of a federal-court preliminary injunction of multiple Georgia campaign finance laws, enabling the State to secure its largest settlement ever of a campaign-finance violation.
James graduated with distinction and Order of the Coif from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he served as an Articles Editor for the Northwestern University Law Review, worked as a judicial intern for the Honorable Trevor N. McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and volunteered at legal aid organizations in Chicago. After graduation, James clerked for the Honorable Britt C. Grant of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Experience
Case Experience
Goodman v. Hillsdale College (W.D. Mich.) – Representing private college in putative data privacy class action brought under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Humana Inc. v. Lundbeck Inc. – Representing Humana in action where a pharmaceutical company allegedly engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme to increase the price of and demand for its orphan drug.
Kraemer Brothers, LLC v. Nations Roof North, LLC (Dane Cnty. Cir. Ct.) – Representing building products manufacturer impleaded into a case brought by general contractor against architect and subcontractors for their negligent design and construction of a commercial hotel property.
Rougeau v. 3M Company (W.D. Wis.) – Representing a chemical manufacturer in a class action in which plaintiffs allege that the Rhinelander Paper Mill and its product suppliers are responsible for PFAS contamination of their properties.
Tennessee v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Tenn. Ch. Ct.) – Representing the State of Tennessee in action seeking to hold Meta responsible for alleged violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act related to the design of and public statements about Instagram and its harmful impacts on youth mental health.
Gaylor v. City of Madison (Dane Cnty. Cir. Ct.) – Representing the Wisconsin State Legislature in a case involving a challenge to a property tax exemption for nonprofit student housing.
Wisconsin Dairy Alliance, Inc. v. Kaul (Calumet Cnty. Cir. Ct.) – Representing alliance of dairy cooperatives and Wisconsin resident in action challenging the Wisconsin Attorney General’s use of a special prosecutor privately funded by the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University.
City of Wausau, WI v. Georgia Pacific, LLC (MDL) – Representing Georgia-Pacific in action alleging that various industrial manufacturers (including paper mills, motor manufacturers, and chemical manufacturers) contributed to PFAS pollution in Wausau’s municipal water supply.
Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission (U.S. Supreme Court) - Represented the Wisconsin State Legislature as amicus curiae urging the Court to reverse on First Amendment grounds the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s denial of a religious tax exemption.
In re Bestwall LLC (4th Cir.) – Represented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as amicus curiae urging the Court to reject plaintiffs’ attempt to concoct a jurisdictional hurdle to prevent mass-tort-driven bankruptcies.