James H. Hulme

Client Work

James’ litigation practice includes a broad range of intellectual property and commercial matters, with particular emphasis on patent, trademark, and copyright cases as well as litigation involving commercial, securities, environmental, real estate, and debtor-creditor’s issues. Handling both jury and nonjury trials, James serves as lead counsel in representing clients in state and federal courts around the country; he has handled cases in courts in more than 35 states. In representing clients as plaintiffs or claimants in various litigations, he has won a number of multimillion-dollar verdicts or awards, and in representing defendants has defeated many multi-million dollar claims.

Equally at home in front of a jury, judge, or arbitrators, James has served as lead counsel in a number of multi-month jury trials. He maintains an active appellate practice, having appeared in appellate courts around the country. 

Intellectual Property Matters

James has obtained injunctive relief in patent cases, obtained one of the largest ex parte civil seizures of counterfeit products in a copyright case, and defended successfully against claims of patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. He has secured valuable licensing rights for a client whose design patent was being infringed by a competitor. He has also secured injunctive relief and damages for a client in the telecommunications industry against a competitor and its affiliates.

Securities and Commercial Matters

James has litigated cases under various securities laws, including the Williams Act and the Investment Company Act. He has defended clients in class actions brought under the securities laws as well as other federal statutes, such as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Representing plaintiffs or defendants, James has substantial experience in litigation arising out of corporate and real estate transactions, including class action litigation and multiple-party cases that involve complex procedural and logistical problems. Additionally, he has successfully represented a corporate client in obtaining multimillion-dollar relief against another corporation for breach of a merger agreement.

Environmental and Toxic Tort Matters

James served as lead counsel in a multi-week jury trial and obtained a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against a Fortune 100 company. In addition, he served as lead counsel in a multi-month jury trial and successfully defended his client against multimillion-dollar claims in an environmental and toxic tort case. He obtained one of the first judicial decisions relating to asbestos in commercial buildings and the applicability of CERCLA, and he has represented other plaintiffs and defendants as lead counsel in a variety of environmental and toxic tort litigations.

Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Matters

In the area of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, James has served as lead counsel in several bankruptcy and adversary proceedings. He took an involuntary bankruptcy case to trial on behalf of several creditor pension funds that resulted in reorganization proceedings being ordered against a debtor, and he has tried a contested involuntary proceeding under the bankruptcy code. In addition, he has handled a nationwide litigation docket of cases in numerous states through direct involvement in certain cases and supervision of local counsel in others.

Previous Work

After graduating from law school, James served as a law clerk to the late Honorable John P. Moore of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Professional Activities

James has served as an adjunct faculty member at the American University Law School, teaching legal writing and research, and as a court-appointed mediator in commercial litigation. James also serves as Vice President and on the Executive Committee of the Council for Court Excellence He also serves on the Board of Trustees, as Chair of the Finance Committee, and as Treasurer of the Sheridan School, a K-8 independent school in Washington, DC. He formerly served as counsel to the Board of Trustees of the National Child Research Center.

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

James’ writings encompass remedies and the law of defamation, having authored a law review article and book chapter on defamation issues. While in law school, he was an editor of the law review and a member of the Washington College of Law Honor Society. He holds the AV peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2022 for Commercial Litigation. He recently published an article titled “Would a ‘Wealth Tax’ Work?”