Litigation Experience
James Munson was as an associate and then partner at Kirkland & Ellis for 38 years. He is an accomplished commercial case trial lawyer with experience on a wide range of legal issues in scores of industries across the country.
At Kirkland, Munson led trials, appeals, arbitrations, mediations, temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction cases, as well as administrative proceedings, in federal and state courts and agencies throughout the country.
He was trial counsel in complex, high-stakes securities, contract, coverage, product liability, mass tort, transaction, RICO, lender liability and constitutional cases.
He has deep experience in a broad range of industries:
Financial Services
Banking, accounting, securities, futures, private equity, trading, investment banking.
Clients: banks, accounting firms, electric utility companies, private equity firms, trading companies, investment banks.
Energy
Coal supply, electric power production, electricity transmission, nuclear power, power plant engineering and construction management, natural gas storage, Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Clients: electric utility companies, investment banks.
Insurance
Claims management, claims service agreements, loss sensitive retrospective premiums, insurance regulatory, D&O insurance, property casualty insurance, health insurance, loss allocation among multiple insurers, primary and excess coverage, trigger and occurrence issues, claims made policies, exhaustion of policy limits, toxic tort, hazardous waste and environmental coverage, professional and employer liability, contested takeover.
Clients: insurers, insureds.
Health Care
Medicare administration contracts, provider retirement plan discounts, medical malpractice.
Clients: health insurance companies, association of health insurance companies, professional sports teams.
Construction
Warranty claims, limitation of liability, schedule, equipment defects, design and construction management.
Clients: nuclear power plant owners, private equity funds.
Education
- Yale, B. A.
- University of Wisconsin, J.D.
Bar Admission
- Illinois
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Courts:
- Northern District of Illinois
- Southern District of New York
- Eastern District of New York
- Northern District of New York
- Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. Courts of Appeals:
- Seventh Circuit
- Second Circuit
- Eighth Circuit
- Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Law Clerk to John W. Reynolds, U.S. District Court Judge, E.D. Wisconsin
Media
Defamation, confidential source privilege, prior restraint, cable television licensing, fairness doctrine.
Clients: newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, cable TV.
Manufacturing
Product liability, mass torts.
Clients: tobacco, automobile companies.
Government
Challenges to agency bond power, fuel and sales taxes, Voting Rights Act cases on city governance structure and election of U.S. Senate replacement, challenge to public transportation rate structure, municipal zoning ordinance disputes.
Clients: metropolitan transportation agency, historical society, pre-school, U.S. Senate and municipality voters.
Additional industries:
- Aviation
- Apparel
- Asbestos
- Dairy
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Grocery
- Outsourcing
- Real estate
- Training services
- Transportation
- Venture capital
For a printable bio, click here.