James has been previously recognized for his ability to connect with juries and to communicate complex facts and concepts in a manner that gets results for his clients. His trial and appellate experience extends to include litigation of complex disputes across the country in areas of law governing commercial contract and business torts, intellectual property, energy and electric utilities, municipalities, executive and professional liability and commercial insurance and reinsurance claims. He is a participating member of the Eastern District of Texas Bar Association.

James is also active in his community. He is currently a member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and the World Affairs Council, Dallas/Ft. Worth. James is also a Sustaining Life Fellow in the Dallas Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. James has previously served two terms as a member of the Coppell Economic Development Committee and as President of the Coppell Economic Development Foundation. He has previously served as President and Immediate Past President of the Austin College "L" Association.

In recent years, James served two terms as President of the Coppell ISD Education Foundation and as a member of the 2009 City of Coppell Bond Advisory Committee. For more than two decades, he has served in a variety of capacities on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. James was selected by the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce in 1992 to participate in the Leadership Dallas program and was honored in 1998 as one of "Forty Under Forty" by the Dallas Business Journal. He was also a Charter Member and Barrister of the Justice Patrick Higginbotham Dallas Inn of Court and an Honorary Barrister in the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn in London, England.