James, a shareholder in the Firm’s Litigation and Labor and Employment groups, has nearly 20 years of experience litigating a variety of business and employment matters in California and Nevada.
His practice focuses on representing individual and corporate clients in cases involving trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition, employment issues, shareholder disputes, and other complex business matters. James also counsels and represents charter schools in a variety of matters. In addition, James serves as the Firm’s Ethics/Loss Prevention Counsel.
With significant courtroom experience, James works with clients to ensure that their objectives are identified early on and that a litigation strategy is pursued towards obtaining the client’s goals cost-effectively and efficiently. His courtroom successes include:
In addition to his trial work, James also presents employment-law seminars throughout the year and writes for the Firm’s Employment, Intellectual Property, and Trade Secret Blogs. Prior to law school, James traveled twice to newly-independent Ukraine to teach English, including a position at the Institute of National Economy in Ternopil. James enjoys running and cooking in his spare time.
State Bar of California, Litigation Section
Member
Sacramento County Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section
Member
Meritas, Sacramento
Member
Awards
The Best Lawyers in America®, 2025 (Litigation – Labor and Employment)
Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, 2015-2020 – General Litigation, Business Litigation, Litigation Intellectual Property
Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, 2020, 2021 – Litigation Intellectual Property
Northern California Super Lawyers, 2016 – 2024
AV® Preeminent™ Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
J.D., with great distinction, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1997
B.A., University of California, Irvine, 1992
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 41 of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. 32 Weintraub attorneys are included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, of which six…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 45 of the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized on the 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers® and Rising Star lists. These lists, selected annually on a state-by-state basis, recognize outstanding attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement in…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 47 of the Firm’s attorneys have been selected to the 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers® and Rising Star lists. These lists, selected annually on a state-by-state basis, recognize outstanding attorneys who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement in…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 37 of its attorneys have been recognized on the 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists. Several Weintraub attorneys also received special recognition on Super Lawyers “Top” lists, including six attorneys named to the Sacramento Top 25 Super Lawyers (Gary L.…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 26 of its attorneys have been recognized as 2021 Top Lawyers by Sacramento Magazine, including 8 attorneys recognized in multiple practices. Voting for Top Lawyers was managed by Professional Research Services and was open to all licensed attorneys in Sacramento. Voters were asked…
Sacramento, CA – Weintraub is pleased to announce that 21 Firm attorneys have been recognized as 2020 Top Lawyers by Sacramento Magazine. The full list of 2020 Top Lawyers will be featured in the August, 2020 issue of Sacramento Magazine. Weintraub attorneys honored as 2020 Top Lawyers are: Brendan Begley…
Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that more than 30 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included on the 2019 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys Northern California. In addition, 6 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Attorneys selected to the…
SACRAMENTO, California – July 19, 2018 – Weintraub Tobin Law Corporation congratulates its 24 attorneys who have been included in Sacramento Magazine’s 2018 Top Lawyer List. David Adams | Business/Corporate, Securities & Corporate FinanceBrendan Begley | AppellateGary L. Bradus | Banking & Financial Service, Business/Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities &…
Super Lawyers has released its Northern California, Southern California and San Diego lists of outstanding attorneys for 2018, on which 37 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included. Five Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition as a Top 25 Sacramento Super Lawyer. Weintraub Tobin attorneys named to the 2018 Southern California…
Weintraub Tobin’s Labor & Employment Law Blog has been recognized in PerformYard’s “Top 10 HR Blogs for Practical Advice in 2018”. The L&E blog “provides an incredible service for HR professionals, with regular updates and insights on changes to employment law.” Congratulations to all our wonderful attorneys for providing fresh interesting…
SACRAMENTO, California – July 26, 2017 – Weintraub Tobin Law Corporation congratulates its 21 attorneys who have been included in Sacramento Magazine’s 2017 Top Lawyer List. Brendan Begley | AppellateGary L. Bradus | Banking & Financial Service, Business/CorporateKay U. Brooks | Estate Planning & ProbateDale C. Campbell | Business Litigation,…
Super Lawyers has released its Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego lists of outstanding attorneys for 2017, on which 36 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included. Six Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition as a Top 25 Sacramento Super Lawyer. Weintraub Tobin attorneys named to the 2017 Southern California…
SACRAMENTO, California – July 25, 2016 – Weintraub Tobin Law Corporation congratulates its 18 attorneys who have been included in Sacramento magazine’s 2016 Top Lawyer List. David C. Adams | Business/Corporate, Mergers & AcquisitionsBrendan Begley | AppellateTaylor W.Bentley | Securities & Corporate FinanceGary L. Bradus | Banking & Financial Service, Business/CorporateKay U.…
Super Lawyers has released its Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego lists of outstanding attorneys for 2016, on which 33 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included. Three Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special honors in their respective regions. Weintraub Tobin attorneys named to the 2016 Southern California and San Diego Super…
Weintraub Tobin’s 2016 Labor and Employment Seminar and Training schedule is now available. Click here for a copy of the schedule. If you have any questions on any of our seminars or would like to inquire on private, custom-tailored training, please contact: Ramona Carrillo400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor Sacramento, CA…
SACRAMENTO, California – August 7, 2015 – Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation congratulates its 20 attorneys who have been included in Sacramento magazine’s Top Lawyer List 2015. David C. Adams | Securities & Corporate FinanceBrendan Begley | AppellateTaylor Bentley | Securities & Corporate FinanceGary L. Bradus | Banking &…
Co-authored by Lizbeth West, Published by LexisNexis Book Highlights: How to navigate the complex issues surrounding family leave, military leave, worker’s compensation and personal time.Insightful analysis of the key employment features to keep in mind when dealing with leave law in California.Determinative considerations in accounting for the many different California…
For a third year in a row, Weintraub Tobin is working to raise funds for cardiovascular diseases and stroke by partaking in the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Saturday, September 21 at William Land Park. Our attorneys and staff work hard during the summer months to gear up for…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OAKLAND CHARTER SCHOOL WINS REPRIEVE TO REMAIN OPEN Oakland, Calif. — Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation, a business law and business litigation firm, is assisting with the representation of American Indian Model Schools (AIMS), which operates three high-performing, nationally-recognized schools in Oakland, in a lawsuit…
Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corporation and Tobin & Tobin, a professional corporation, jointly announce the merger of their business law and litigation firms. The combined firm will be named Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin and will have offices in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles. With over 60 attorneys,…
Over the last year, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak has tripled the size of its employment law department. In addition to enhancing the services we can provide to our clients, this growth has allowed us to continue presenting our quality seminars and maintaining our Labor and Employment Law Blog. Our results have…
Download: Seminar Brochure – April 21, 2011.pdf Summary of Program: Federal and state OSHA laws protect California workers from unsafe working conditions. However, the federal and state statutes and regulations are complex and can be difficult to understand. Employers often fall short of complying with provisions of Cal/OSHA simply because…
Weintraub Genshlea Chediak in partnership with Hands On Sacramento and the Metro Chamber’s Project Inspire volunteered to spend an afternoon last week at RAFT Sacramento, a nonprofit that distributes materials and supplies at very low cost to the region’s teachers. “It feels good to part of a firm that supports…
Sacramento’s fifth-largest law firm quietly opened a branch in Los Angeles this week. Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Law Corp. has hired two litigators in an office on Wilshire Boulevard to solidify a toehold in the intellectual property, employment and entertainment markets in Southern California. The firm has expanded in Sacramento, too.…
SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 21, 2009 –Weintraub Genshlea Chediak, a Sacramento-based business law and business litigation law firm congratulates its fourteen attorneys who were named as 2009 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars: Super Lawyers: Dale C. Campbell, Intellectual Property Litigation Christopher Chediak, Corporate Law Ed Corey, Jr., Estate Planning…
OpenAI, Inc. develops artificial intelligence software involving large language models (“LLM”) known as ChatGPT. In 2023, several authors, including the comedian Sarah Silverman, filed putative class action lawsuits alleging various copyright infringement claims. On February 12, 2024, a District Court in the Northern District of California issued its Order and…
Last October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1076 into law and it became effective as of January 1, 2024. AB 1076 was the Legislature’s attempt to codify the California Supreme Court’s 2008 decision, Edwards v. Arthur Anderson LLP, which held that non-compete agreements in the employment context are unenforceable…
In 1991, the grunge band, Nirvana, was one of the most popular musical acts in the U.S. with its anthem Smells Like Teen Spirit, which was featured on its album, Nevermind. Many will remember the cover of Nevermind that featured a naked baby swimming underwater and reaching for a dollar…
The Ninth Circuit was recently asked to address the “public interest” exemption to California’s anti-SLAPP law in a class action lawsuit brought by a Plaintiff whose photo and personal information were used without her consent to advertise subscriptions to a website. The case, Martinez v. ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc. (decided Sep.…
On June 7, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Group, Inc., in which it affirmed the trial court’s findings of infringement against Zillow and the award of statutory damages. In 2019, the Ninth Circuit had previously found mostly in Zillow’s favor as to an…
On April 24, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., and affirmed the trial court’s ruling in Apple’s favor as to Epic’s Sherman Act claim for restraint of trade relating to Apple’s distribution of apps in its App Store. (This article does not…
The Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether parties can contractually agree to shorten the statute of limitations period for bringing a copyright infringement claim. In an unpublished opinion in the case, Evox Productions, LLC v. Chrome Data Solutions, LP (filed Feb. 10, 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that…
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) provides immunity to “interactive computer services” providers against certain types of legal claims, such as when harmful material is posted on their site by third parties. Until recently, the Ninth Circuit had not decided whether to extend the protections of section 230…
Google, which operates the world’s most popular search engine, recently defeated an antitrust claim brought by an online supplier of stock images in the case Dreamstime.com, LLC v. Google, LLC, decided on December 6, 2022, by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Dreamstime Opinion helps illustrate some difficulties in…
The Ninth Circuit was recently called upon to decide a case of first impression for it involving the interplay between immunity granted to website providers under the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) and potential civil liability under The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2018 (“FOSTA”).…
You are likely familiar with the children’s game, Connect 4, in which players drop red and black checker pieces into an upright rack trying to get four of their pieces in a row to win. Some of you may have even seen enlarged outdoor versions of the Connect 4 game…
In Lang Van, Inc. v. VNG Corporation (decided July 21, 2022), the Ninth Circuit addressed the issue of how to evaluate whether a U.S. District Court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign defendant with regard to a copyright infringement suit. Lang Van is a California corporation that produces and distributes Vietnamese…
Trademark law was developed to help protect a seller’s “brand” in connection with the marketing and labeling of products for sale to avoid “consumer confusion.” One rarely litigated aspect of trademark law is that the use of the trademark must be for a lawful purpose. The Ninth Circuit recently tackled…
For more than half a century, Marvel Comics and DC Comics have jointly owned the trademark ‘Superhero.’ However, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently granted a petition to cancel that mark because it became generic. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss this case and how marks become generic on this episode of The Briefing.…
California recently passed two new AI laws that aim to protect individuals from the unauthorized creation of digital replicas. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss these laws and their implications for the media industry on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here or listen to the podcast episode here:
A group of senators introduced an update to the ‘No Fakes Act,’ which protects the voice and visual likeness of individuals from unauthorized AI-generated recreations. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss the changes to this act on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel…
Delve into the complexities of vicarious infringement and DMCA violations in AI training. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar from Weintraub Tobin dissect the recent district court ruling on OpenAI’s copyright infringement allegations on this installment of “The Briefing.” Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here or listen to…
Tennessee’s ELVIS Act —Breaking down the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and the Image Security Act of 2024. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar from Weintraub Tobin discuss its impact on AI audio technology and how it protects musicians in the next installment of “The Briefing.” Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube…
