James is an Associate Counsel in the Vancouver Office of Lang Michener LLP and is Co-Chair (Western Canada) of the firm’s Franchise & Distribution Group. James practices in the areas of franchise and distribution law, privacy, technology and intellectual property law, and has been ranked for the last two years as a “Leading Lawyer” in Canada by the legal publication, LEXPERT. His clients are concentrated in the technology, services, franchising, retail and gaming sectors, and range from start-ups to major international corporations.
James is an active volunteer, and is a currently an elected member of the Provincial Council of the Canadian Bar Association for Vancouver County, a British Columbia Representative for Canadians for Equal Marriage, a former Member of the Executive Committee of the Vancouver Bar Association, a former Legal Advisor and a current Member of the Canadian Franchise Association Pacific Region Council, and Member of the Canadian Franchise Association Franchise Service Supplier Council. He is also a former Member of the Board of Governors of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the University of Alberta Senate. He was also recently Chair of the Continuing Legal Education courses on Privacy and was Chair of the Continuing Legal Education courses Franchising (2001) and Privacy (2004 and 2005).
James regularly writes and lectures in primary practice areas, and has published several articles, taught courses, and presented papers at a number of conferences, including those of the Canadian Franchise Association and International Franchise Association. He holds a BA from the University of Calgary, where he was a Queen Elizabeth II Scholar and an LLB from the University of Alberta, where he was inducted into the Gold Key Society. He was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1996.