Monte F. James
Biography
Monte F. James retired from the largest law firm in Austin in 2022, where he was a partner for more than 20 years. During his legal career, he represented several Fortune 500 companies in litigation matters throughout Texas and other states. Litigation for these entities included commercial litigation, healthcare litigation, negligence actions, bad faith claims, antitrust claims, False Claims Act or qui tam actions, reimbursement matters, trademark infringement litigation, and state and federal civil monetary penalty actions.
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Experience
Monte has extensive bench and jury trial experience in both federal and state courts, including more than 20 jury trials. The vast majority of his practice was representing defendants in litigation matters. He has successfully defended clients in hundreds of various litigation matters. He has also represented a number of plaintiffs in commercial cases, some of which resulted in some of the largest recoveries in the U.S., as described below.
Monte’s focus was always on his client’s needs. He understood the business and the economics of litigation. He had several Fortune 500 clients for approximately 20 years because he would inform his defense clients immediately if a case should be settled or tell a potential plaintiff that their case should not be pursued.
Outcomes
Great wins only come through experience, hard work, and the willingness to risk trial over the settlement. When my client’s employee implemented an elaborate scheme to misappropriate company property and covered the trail of his misdeeds, I tried the case to a verdict, recovering not only the full amount taken but 100% of my client’s six-figure attorney’s fees. When my opponent demanded $4 million on the eve of trial in a death case, I tried it to a verdict of approximately 10% of the amount of the demand. When my opponent offered $67,000 for damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina to my client’s six-story residential building in New Orleans, I took 67 depositions and built a case that the same opponent paid $9 million one week before trial in federal court. Another opponent sent an email indicating I had won a TRO in federal court without adequate evidence. Two weeks later, the same federal court issued a preliminary injunction in my client’s favor after a multi-day evidentiary hearing. Two years and 97 depositions later, the same opponent paid my client $8 million to settle the case before trial.
Additional examples of Monte’s defense cases include:
In addition to his principal defense practice, Mr. James has represented a number of corporate clients as plaintiffs in commercial cases.
Some of the judgments and settlements he obtained in these cases include:
Past results are not an indication of what a future client may recover in any case, and should not be considered as such. Not all of Mr. James’ cases resulted in victories – he lost jury trials and trials to the court.