James W. Cobb

Business Litigation & Class Actions

James represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex business disputes, including contract litigation and business torts; corporate-governance and fiduciary matters; real-estate disputes; insurance-coverage litigation; whistleblower and qui tam cases; and government-enforcement actions. James also regularly defends class actions, shareholder-derivative suits, and bet-the-company litigation. James’s clients include public and private companies, partnerships, officers and directors, and individuals facing serious financial or professional exposure. James has secured wins at trial for both plaintiffs and defendants; resolved cases for defendants on the eve of trial for a small fraction of claimed damages; and negotiated settlements for plaintiffs worth tens of millions of dollars.

Appeals

James handles both federal and state appeals, often involving issues of first impression. His written and oral advocacy has been described as "of the highest quality" and "masterful." After one argument in Georgia’s Supreme Court, a lawyer who watched the argument described James’s presentation as “quite possibly the finest example of appellate advocacy I’ve heard; it was on par with the best [Supreme Court of the United States] appellate advocates.”

James is also regularly engaged as embedded appellate counsel for cases that are going to trial. Working alongside trial counsel, he helps frame and argue dispositive motions, preserve potential errors, and position the case for appeal.

Antitrust, RICO, & Unfair Competition

James represents plaintiffs and defendants in civil antitrust litigation, RICO cases, false-advertising and unfair-competition disputes, and restrictive-covenant and trade-secret cases. James has served as lead defense counsel in federal antitrust actions raising novel legal issues; defended major companies in civil RICO lawsuits brought under both the federal and state RICO statutes; and both prosecuted and defended competitor lawsuits in a variety of industries. Recently, James obtained a complete recovery—including attorneys' fees—for a large corporate client in a RICO case. And in a federal false-advertising case in which he represented the defendants, James not only secured a complete dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims, but he obtained a significant settlement payment for his client—from the plaintiff.

Special Matters

James often handles matters that require extreme sensitivity and discretion. These include internal corporate investigations; sensitive personnel matters; significant personal disputes; and conflicts over substantial family assets. Matters like these require a particular combination of experience, judgment, and discretion—and an understanding that the specific legal outcome may not always be the most important measure of success.

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.

• Chambers USA, Georgia Litigation: General Commercial
• Legal 500, Atlanta Elite—Commercial Disputes
• Best Lawyers in America: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, & Appellate Practice
• Top 100 Super Lawyer in Georgia (Super Lawyers Magazine)
• 2022 Litigation Department of the Year—Southeastern Legal Awards (American Law Media’s Daily Report)
• 2019 Litigation Department of the Year—Georgia Legal Awards (American Law Media’s Daily Report)
• AV Preeminent Rating—highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics (Martindale-Hubbell)
• “On the Rise” Award (American Law Media)
• Legal Elite in Business Law, Corporate Law, and Trial Practice (Georgia Trend Magazine)

Professional Involvement

• Master in the Lamar Inn of Court, Emory University School of Law
• 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)
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal (published by the State Bar of Georgia) (2012 – 2015)

Community Involvement

• Director, the Decatur Education Foundation
• Former Trustee, the Wylde Center
• Former member of the Corporate Leadership Council, Fernbank Museum of Natural History
• Former member of Rotary Club of Decatur
• Former Chancellor of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Decatur, Georgia

Representative Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, Civil RICO from the Plaintiff’s Perspective (ICLE’s RICO Seminar)
• 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 (ICLE’s Family Law Institute)
• Speaker, Recent Developments in Georgia’s Law of Evidence (ICLE’s “Trial & Error” Seminar)
• Panelist, Professionalism in the Appellate Courts (ICLE’s Seminar on Appellate Practice)
• Panelist, Recent Developments in the Law of Arbitration, (ICLE’s Seminar on Contract Litigation)
• Panelist, NCAA Highlights: Legislation, Adjudication, Enforcement & Some Cautionary Tales, (Lumpkin Inn of Court, University of Georgia)
• Panelist, Jurisdiction and the Stream of Commerce: Drying Up or Preparing to Flood (Lumpkin Inn of Court, University of Georgia)
• Presenter, Developments in Antitrust Law at the U.S. Supreme Court (ICLE’s Antitrust Law: The Basics and Healthcare)
• Presenter, Courts and Secrecy (Lamar Inn of Court, Emory University)
• Presenter, University of Georgia School of Law for the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism

Representative Publications

• 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
• Practice Pointer: The Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Rule 23’s Notice Requirements for Approval of Class Actions, American Bar Association
• 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