Our Attorneys

James M. Hanlon, Jr.

Partner

Phone: (925) 210-2810

Fax: (925) 945-1975

James Hanlon is a trial and appellate lawyer with almost 25 years of experience in federal and state courts as well as ADR programs. He has worked on a wide variety of commercial, product liability, environmental, employment, and wage-and-hour litigation. Mr. Hanlon is adept at mastering complex facts and novel areas of law so they can be presented in a straightforward, persuasive manner to judges and juries.

Mr. Hanlon has tried cases in federal and state court and argued appeals before the California Court of Appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has a special interest in agriculture and viticulture and enjoys representing clients in those fields as well as handling commercial and other matters. He was designated an under-40 Rising Star in 2012 and has been named a SuperLawyer every year since 2013.

Mr. Hanlon is the firm’s relationship partner with TPG, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). Over the years, Mr. Hanlon has maintained an active pro bono practice, including the ten-year habeas corpus representation of an Alabama death row inmate who was awarded a new trial and then released from prison for time served.

Mr. Hanlon graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to joining the firm in 2006, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael Daly Hawkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced with Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

Representative Cases:

Allen v. Southern California Edison and Brody v. Southern California Edison (San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County) Lead counsel for Southern California Edison in defending cases brought by contractor linemen injured while performing maintenance work.
Bay Area Rapid Transit District COVID-19 cases (N.D. Cal. and Ninth Circuit) Lead trial and appellate counsel for BART in defending religious discrimination cases brought by former employees who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Raphel v. Braddock (Arbitration) Lead counsel in eight-figure JAMS arbitration of dispute over ownership transfers in several real estate investment entities.
Torres v. Technion Contractors TCI, Inc. (Los Angeles County) Lead counsel for general contractor in personal injury lawsuit after subcontractor’s worker suffered severe burn injuries. Successfully defended and resolved the plaintiff’s claims. Pursuing indemnity and defense against the subcontractor employer.
Dompe v. Stewart & Jasper Orchards (Stanislaus County) Lead counsel for corporation in involuntary dissolution and minority owner buyout action.
Bay Area Rapid Transit District High Voltage Safety Appeals (Administrative) Lead counsel for BART in administrative appeals of citations challenging core electrical safety practices.
Doe v. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (Los Angeles County and California Court of Appeal) Lead counsel defending hotel owners from claims of premises and other liability brought by person attacked and stabbed in the lobby. Secured summary judgment in the trial court and lead counsel on appeal.
Marshall v. TPG (San Francisco County) Lead counsel for TPG in defending wrongful termination claim.
Yarbrough Russo v. Andrews (Solano County and California Court of Appeal) Trial and lead appellate counsel in contract and business tort dispute concerning ownership and operation of a real estate development company with significant assets.
Garcia v. Flora Springs Wine Company (Napa County) Represented winery in wage-and-hour class action.
Spring Ridge LLC v. Park Wine Company (San Mateo County) Represented winery in defending tort and breach of contract claims brought by vineyard owner and landlord.
City of Los Angeles v. General Electric Company (C.D. Cal.) Defended GE from indemnity and construction delay claims related to equipment lost and damaged at sea while being delivered for a repowering project undertaken by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. GE was dismissed following a successful FRCP Rule 12 motion.
Scantlin v. General Electric Company (C.D. Cal.) Trial counsel and lead appellate counsel for GE in defense of a defective design personal injury lawsuit brought by an electrician who sustained third-degree burns over more than 65% of his body in an industrial accident. GE’s award of summary judgment was affirmed on appeal.
County of Santa Clara v. Atlantic Richfield Co., et al. (Santa Clara County) Trial counsel for DuPont in defense of a public nuisance suit brought by 10 counties and cities seeking more than $1 billion for abatement of residential lead-based paint. DuPont was awarded a defense verdict after a two-month bench trial.
Hat v. HomeFed (Madera County) Trial counsel for real estate developer in a lawsuit involving a 2,000-acre wine grape vineyard. Former owner who stayed on as tenant attempted to reverse the sale and to recover millions of grape stakes from the ranch. The developer prevailed in a two-week jury trial.
Smith v. Alabama (Alabama state courts) Represented Alabama death row inmate in habeas corpus proceedings. Led investigation of prior counsel’s conduct and the underlying evidence. After a week-long evidentiary hearing conducted with co-counsel Covington & Burling LLP, the state circuit court overturned both the guilty verdict and death sentence. The ruling was unanimously affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in State v. Smith, 85 So.3d 1063 (Ala. Ct. Crim. App. 2010). Shortly after exhaustion of the State’s appeals, the client was released on a time-served agreement.

Areas of Practice:

General Litigation
Trial Practice
Appellate Practice

Bar Admissions:

California, 2001
U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 2003
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 2003
U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 2003
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 2003
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2001

Education:

J.D. – University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia, 2000
B.A. – University of Southern California, 1997
- Honors: Trustee Scholar (Full-tuition academic scholarship)
- Major: International Relations

Professional Associations and Memberships:

State Bar of California

Past Employment Positions:

Covington & Burling, LLP, Associate
Hon. Michael Daly Hawkins, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Law Clerk

Report abuse