James S. Azadian

Jimmy’s regulatory practice spans the full spectrum of federal agency rule making, including regulations and Federal Advisory Committee resolutions, such as those promulgated under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Coast Guard/Department of Homeland Security. He also specializes in private company compliance with the 8(a) Business Development Program, as administered through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additionally, Jimmy has substantial experience in complex internal corporate investigations, high-profile congressional and U.S. Department of Justice investigations, and strategic media campaigns.

Jimmy completed judicial clerkships with Ninth Circuit Judge Consuelo Maria Callahan and District Judge Ricardo Manuel Urbina of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  He serves as an adjunct professor, having taught courses in Appellate Advocacy at Pepperdine University School of Law, Law and Economics at UCLA, the Supreme Court Practicum at Northwestern University School of Law, and Legal Ethics at USC. Jimmy is a member of the Advisory Board for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as appointed by Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Runyan Thomas. He also serves as a court-appointed mentor to civil practitioners through the Ninth Circuit Mentorship Program. Jimmy served as the court-appointed Chair of the Ninth Circuit Appellate Lawyer Representatives, a group of approximately 20 appellate attorneys chosen as representing the very best in the field of appellate advocacy. He is the former Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Appellate Law Section. In addition, he has served two terms as a court-appointed member of the Ninth Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures. Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appointed Jimmy to serve on the Law Clerk Resource Group, a subsection of the Workplace Environment Committee, created in 2017 by Chief Judge Thomas to provide additional resources to help law clerks navigate their clerkship experience. Jimmy serves on Pepperdine University School of Law’s Board of Visitors and on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

Jimmy has received numerous litigation accolades. Most recently, he was selected to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Top 100 Lawyers” list for 2024. This award recognizes his exceptional legal skill and the industry-influencing victories won by him and his team in areas as diverse as First Amendment law, class actions, intellectual property, product liability, and commercial law. Additionally, the Los Angeles Business Journal included him in the 2020 Leaders Of Influence: Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers listing and “Thriving in Their 40’s” listings. The Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal recently awarded him with its 2019 Top Appellate Reversals, for his work in leading Dykema’s appellate team to secure the Ninth Circuit en banc court’s June 2019 reversal of a three-judge panel’s decision in a major appeal that defines the rules for settling nationwide class actions. He has also been recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys in California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal, and as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in the field of Appellate Law each year since 2010. He was also recently recognized as one of Pepperdine University's inaugural 40 Under 40 Honorees. Additionally, he was elected to the American Registry as one of North America’s Top Attorneys, in recognition for achieving consistently successful outcomes on appeal, and he was awarded the Chief Justice John Marshall Medal by the Supreme Court Historical Society for his excellence in appellate advocacy and his commitment to pro bono representation and the advancement of civic learning among youth. Jimmy is also nationally recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America®.