Early in his career, James served as a judicial clerk to now retired Chief Judge Paul Michel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also practiced with Arnold White & Durkee and, later, Dewey Ballantine, serving as the office managing partner of Dewey's Texas office. James, who is also a former Assistant Dean of the law school at Emory University in Atlanta, has served as Lexmark’s Chief IP Counsel, Nokia’s Global Director of Licensing, and as Associate General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel of Baxter International. Most recently, He served as the Chief Administrative Patent Judge at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where he led the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. James holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, and a juris doctor degree from Duke University.