James W. Cobb

Business Litigation & Counseling

James represents plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of business disputes, including class actions, business breakups, partnership disputes, antitrust and RICO actions, employment-related disputes, corporate-governance matters, contract disputes, securities and banking-related actions, fiduciary litigation, and internal investigations. James also acts as general counsel to certain of his business clients, advising on legal and business issues as they arise.

Appeals

James has a diverse and wide-ranging appellate practice that covers civil and criminal appeals in both state and federal courts. His written and oral advocacy has been praised as “excellent,” “outstanding,” of “the highest quality,” and “masterful.”

Constitutional & Tort Litigation

James regularly represents clients in complex tort and constitutional litigation. His tort experience covers the full range of economic torts, including class actions alleging economic loss, securities actions, and antitrust and RICO actions. James’s constitutional expertise includes both individual constitutional rights and structural constitutional issues, such as the separation of powers and law of democracy. James has served as lead counsel in multiple actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of various provisions of the Bill of Rights.

Complex Business Disputes

• Represented parties in partnership, joint-venture, and corporate-governance disputes, including CEOs, partners, and officers in various companies and professional-services firms.
• Resolved a case for a pharmaceutical manufacturer for less than 1% of the plaintiff’s claimed damages on the eve of a multi-week jury trial.
• Obtained a complete defense verdict as lead trial counsel for a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a case arising out of a joint venture.
• Lead defense counsel for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in civil RICO litigation related to the opioid crisis.
• Secured a complete defense judgment in a contract action for a major vehicle manufacturer.
• Obtained summary judgment on claims worth more than $6 million in a complex contract dispute.
• Secured a settlement worth just under $50 million in a corporate-governance dispute.
• Achieved a seven-figure settlement in a shareholder-oppression case for a beverage company.
• Obtained temporary restraining orders and a preliminary injunction in restrictive covenant and contract disputes for a major healthcare company.
• Defended a national bank in legal and equitable claims brought by another national bank, defeating all claims and recovering a portion of the client’s attorney’s fees.
• Represented firms in disputes with local and state governments over public contracts, securing favorable resolutions.

Appellate Litigation

• Represented Undisclosed LLC before the Supreme Court of Georgia, delivering a highly praised oral argument.
• Successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on an issue of first impression regarding federal courts' subject-matter jurisdiction.
• Represented online travel companies before the Supreme Court of Georgia in an action challenging their business models.
• Defended a Fortune 100 telecommunications company in a federal appeal of an order certifying a nationwide class in a business dispute.

Securities Litigation

• Represented companies and their officers, directors, and employees in federal and state securities investigations and enforcement proceedings.
• Obtained an early dismissal of an action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of an Atlanta-based securities underwriter.
• Defended a major brokerage firm in a week-long securities-fraud arbitration, securing a unanimous judgment in favor of the firm.

Antitrust & RICO Litigation

• Lead counsel for a state licensing board in federal antitrust actions, addressing novel issues of state-action immunity.
• Defended a large pharmaceutical manufacturer in civil RICO litigation related to the opioid crisis.
• Successfully litigated RICO claims on behalf of a construction firm, recovering 100% of the client’s claims and attorneys’ fees.
• Represented securities underwriters and broker-dealers in RICO actions involving various issues.

Class Actions

• Represented a major manufacturer in multiple product-liability class actions across federal courts.
• Represented a class of public retirees in a federal class action over retirement health benefits, settling for over $14.5 million in cash and benefits.
• Defended a Fortune 100 telecommunications company in nationwide class actions challenging compensation practices.
• Represented a publicly traded fuel retailer in multiple consumer class actions related to motor fuel sales.

• Top 100 Super Lawyer in Georgia (Super Lawyers Magazine)
• 2022 Litigation Department of the Year—Southeastern Legal Awards (American Law Media’s Daily Report)
• Best Lawyers©, Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice
• AV Preeminent Rating—highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics (Martindale-Hubbell)
• “On the Rise” Award (American Law Media’s Daily Report)
• Legal Elite in Business Law, Corporate Law, and Trial Practice (Georgia Trend Magazine)
• Listed in Georgia’s Top Rated Lawyers for Business & Commercial Law, Class Actions, and Consumer Law
• 2019 Litigation Department of the Year—Georgia Legal Awards (American Law Media’s Daily Report)
• Avvo.com 10.0 Rating (Superb) in Litigation

• Chair of the Trade Secrets Subcommittee of the Business Torts & Unfair Competition Committee (American Bar Association) (2014-2020)
• Chair of the Fraud Subcommittee of the Business Torts Litigation Committee (American Bar Association) (2013-2014)
• Master in the Lamar Inn of Court, Emory University School of Law
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal (published by the State Bar of Georgia) (2012 – 2015)
• Barrister in the Lumpkin Inn of Court, University of Georgia School of Law (2011 – 2013)
• Barrister in the Lamar Inn of Court, Emory University School of Law (2008 – 2011)
• Atlanta Bar Association
• DeKalb Bar Association
• Director, the Decatur Education Foundation
• Former Trustee, the Wylde Center
• Former member of the Corporate Leadership Council, Fernbank Museum of Natural History
• Decatur Education Foundation, Community Insight & Engagement Council
• Rotary Club of Decatur
• Former Chancellor of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Decatur, Georgia

• Panelist, The Accountant-Client Privilege, presented at the Georgia Society of CPAs annual seminar on Fraud & Forensic Accounting
• Panelist, What Family Lawyers Must Know About Corporate & Business Law, presented at ICLE’s Family Law Institute
• Speaker, Recent Developments in Georgia’s Law of Evidence, presented at ICLE’s “Trial & Error” Seminar
• Panelist, Professionalism in the Appellate Courts, presented at ICLE’s Seminar on Appellate Practice
• Panelist, Recent Developments in the Law of Arbitration, presented at ICLE’s Seminar on Contract Litigation
• Panelist, NCAA Highlights: Legislation, Adjudication, Enforcement & Some Cautionary Tales, presented to the Lumpkin Inn of Court
• Panelist, Jurisdiction and the Stream of Commerce: Drying Up or Preparing to Flood, presented to the Lumpkin Inn of Court
• Presenter, Developments in Antitrust Law at the U.S. Supreme Court, presented at Antitrust Law: The Basics and Healthcare (Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia)
• Presenter, Courts and Secrecy, presented to the Lamar Inn of Court
• Annual Presenter, University of Georgia School of Law for the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism
• Practice Pointer: The Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Rule 23’s Notice Requirements for Approval of Class Actions, American Bar Association
• 10 Recent Developments You Should Know About Georgia’s Law of Evidence, Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia
• Contributing Author, Handbook on the Scope of Antitrust, American Bar Association
• Recent Developments in the Law of Arbitration, Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia
• E&I Case Law Update—State Action Doctrine, American Bar Association
• E&I Case Law Update—Noerr-Pennington, American Bar Association
• The Filed-Rate and Noerr-Pennington Doctrines: Coll v. First American Title Insurance Co., American Bar Association
• Discrimination Under the Massachusetts Fair Housing Law, Boston Bar Journal (with Jane E. Willis)

• Rogers & Hardin LLP
• Ropes & Gray LLP