Dykema’s Los Angeles Office Adds Litigator James S. Azadian

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced the addition of James Azadian to its Los Angeles office, where he will be a member of the firm’s nationwide appellate practice. He specializes in complex federal and state court civil appeals raising cutting-edge and core business issues, the First Amendment to the Constitution, Article 1 of the California Constitution, and the application of California's anti-SLAPP statute in federal court. 

Azadian has served as counsel in more than 200 appeals and writ proceedings covering a wide variety of industries and subjects. He frequently serves as special counsel to other law firms in preparing advocates for oral argument and in assisting with the preparation of appellate briefs as well as critical motions at the trial court level in cases where an appeal by either side seems inevitable or where the outcome of the case will impact an entire series of litigation for the client. Azadian is widely published and frequently cited as a leading authority on appellate advocacy.

His regulatory practice spans the full spectrum of federal agency rulemaking, including regulations and Federal Advisory Committee resolutions. He also specializes in private company compliance with the 8(a) Business Development Program, as administered through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additionally, Azadian has successfully counseled a variety of clients still affected by the redevelopment agency dissolution process mandated under the California Community Redevelopment Law, in each case recouping funds from the California Department of Finance totaling over $150 Million to date. He also brings to Dykema his substantial experience in complex internal corporate investigations, high-profile congressional and U.S. Department of Justice investigations, and strategic media campaigns.

Apart from his professional practice, Azadian has served as an adjunct professor teaching 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. He is the current Chair of the Appellate Lawyer Representatives of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as appointed by Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney Runyan Thomas, a group of only 18 appellate attorneys chosen as representing the very best in the field of appellate advocacy. He also serves as the current Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Appellate Law Section, an elected position. In addition, Azadian is a court-appointed mentor to civil practitioners through the Ninth Circuit Mentorship Program, and has served two terms as a court-appointed member of the Ninth Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures.

“James represents the very best of our nation’s appellate practitioners and Dykema’s continuing commitment to further strengthening the depth of its appellate bench,” said Jeffrey Huron, Managing Member of Dykema’s Los Angeles Office. “His first-rate reputation is well known throughout California and nationally, among firms and jurists alike. Before he joined Dykema, we regularly employed his pre-trial strategy and appellate services on our clients’ most critical matters. We saw that, time after time, James delivered bottom-line results. Clients come to him because he gets results, it is that simple.”

Michael Wippler, who serves on Dykema’s Executive Board added, “James brings to the table one of those rare, but essential, combinations of superb mastery of practice with a superior intellect mitigated only by common sense and the ‘big picture.’ I have seen him take the most complicated issue and translate it into the most solvable problem. It is a talent that is rare among litigators. He will continue to add to the sterling legacy of Dykema’s appellate practice, dating back to the firm’s founding in 1926.”

Before joining Dykema, Azadian was the Hiring Shareholder and Chair of Southern California-based Enterprise Counsel Group’s appellate, writs, and constitutional law practice, as well as its regulatory practice. He started out in private practice as an appellate associate with the Washington, D.C., office of Sidley Austin LLP, right after he had completed his 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. 

Azadian graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law and was awarded a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from UCLA. Azadian has received numerous accolades for his appellate work. He was just recently 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. Azadian was also recognized this past year as one of Pepperdine University's 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. Azadian is also nationally recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America®, as currently featured in the 24th Edition of Best Lawyers®.