Atty. Edgar N. James
Mr. James served as senior counsel to several national and international labor unions.
Profile Summary
About Edgar N. James at a glance
Edgar N. James is a Partner based in Washington, District of Columbia, practicing at James & Hoffman, P.C.. They have 46+ years of legal experience, licensed to practice since 1980. Their practice focuses on employment and litigation. Admitted to practice in District of Columbia (1980) and Maryland U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia U.S. District Court, District of Maryland (1986). Educated at Harvard Law School (J.D., 1979) and Portland State University (B.S. Harvard, 1969). Recognitions include AV Preeminent. Active member of District of Columbia Bar Maryland State and American Bar Associations. Serands clients in Washington, DC and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- Mr. James served as senior counsel to several national and international labor unions
- He was the General Counsel to the Allied Pilots Association, the collective bargaining agent for the pilots at American Airlines, for twenty-five years
- He has also represented thousands of individual workers in the private and public sectors in collective actions under the FLSA
- Edgar James specializes in labor, employment and non-profit organization law before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies
- For many years, Mr. James was a Senior Editor of the ABA’s treatise on the Railway Labor Act and frequent contributor to the ALI-ABA seminars on Airline and Railroad Labor Law
- In the 1980’s, Mr. James was active in the efforts to oppose Frank Lorenzo in the airline industry and in the litigation surrounding the mineworker union’s fight to preserve retiree health care at the Pittston Company
- In addition to his labor practice, Mr. James advises a number of marketing, polling and public relations firms on matters involving campaign finance, intellectual property and other issues related to their work
- Mr. James graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1979
- While at Harvard, Mr. James conducted several seminars at the John F. Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, was an articles editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and authored a law review article on union democracy and the LMRDA
- Prior to law school, Mr. James ran the insurgent campaign against W. A. “Tony” Boyle in the mineworkers election following the murder of Joseph A. Yablonski, his wife and daughter and later served as a senior staff member and organizer with the union. (Cillian Murphy is making a movie about the Yablonsky murders based on the book Blood Runs Coal, and Crooked Media is producing an 8-part podcast about the successful multi-year campaign to oust Tony Boyle from the mine workers.) Mr. James received his undergraduate degree from Portland State University in 1969 and attended Columbia University as a doctoral candidate in history
- Mr. James serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations
- He is a member of the courts of the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland and is admitted to practice before most federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court
- He is a member of the District of Columbia bar, the Maryland State Bar Association, the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the Federal Bar and American Bar Associations
- Mr. James was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2025
- He has been awarded an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating achievable by attorneys, was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law - Union in Washington, D.C. in Best Lawyers in America, was voted a District of Columbia Super Lawyer and Lawdragon identified him as one of the 500 leading plaintiff employment and civil rights lawyers in the United States from 2021 – 2024
Practice Areas Explained
Edgar N. James's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Edgar N. James handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Employment lawyers represent workers in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage & hour disputes, and severance negotiations.
Edgar N. James is one of 169,120 employment attorneys indexed nationally. Browse employment attorneys in District of Columbia →
Civil litigation attorneys for breach of contract, business disputes, civil rights, and class action lawsuits.
Edgar N. James is one of 454,532 litigation attorneys indexed nationally. Browse litigation attorneys in District of Columbia →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in District of Columbia
Practicing law in District of Columbia. Legal matters in District of Columbia are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Washington are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate District of Columbia state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in District of Columbia brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in District of Columbia courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
Looking for additional District of Columbia attorneys? Browse all attorneys in Washington or all attorneys in District of Columbia.
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