Collie F. James, IV is a seasoned trial lawyer with a proven track record of achieving outstanding results in high-profile crisis litigation matters, including mass tort, product liability, government enforcement, unfair business practices, and consumer class actions. Serving as the managing partner of the Orange County office, he represents companies in US state and federal courts and arbitrates matters before multiple agencies, including the International Court of Arbitration.
Collie also counsels on pre-litigation issues critical to the core business operations of clients in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, healthcare, food and supplement, cosmetic and beauty, and consumer product industries. Collie has played key roles in litigating some of the most significant crisis and mass tort, public nuisance, product liability, and consumer litigation matters in the country over the last 20 years, including the following:
In addition to these major matters, Collie routinely represents clients in actions brought by state and county officials and private plaintiffs under California’s Unfair Competition and False Advertising laws. He has represented clients in enforcement actions brought by California counties regarding national advertising campaigns, the sufficiency of website disclosures, and waste management practices and litigated class actions brought by private citizens under the same laws against a variety of industries, including food and beverage, health supplements, and cosmetics.
Collie is equally committed to community and philanthropic interests. He is the co-founder and treasurer of the Maddie James Foundation—established in honor of the memory of his five-year-old daughter—which funded the building of a seaside learning center bearing her name at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA, and Collie now serves on the Ocean Institute’s Board of Directors. He is a trustee of St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel, CA, served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jessie Rees Foundation, which supports children and their families around the world who are facing pediatric cancer, and sat on the Governance Committee of the local chapter of Make-A-Wish. He is a past president of the Orange County Bar Foundation and board member of the Federal Bar Association, leads a local legal aid clinic, and proudly coaches a variety of youth sports teams.
Recommended, Dispute resolution: Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices, The Legal 500 US (2023, 2024)
Litigator of the Week, Am Law Litigation Daily (November 5, 2021)
Recognized, Commercial Litigation, Costa Mesa, The Best Lawyers in America (2022, 2023)
Trustee, Board of Trustees, St. Anne School
Member, Board of Directors, Ocean Institute
Co-Founder and Treasurer, The Maddie James Foundation
Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jessie Rees Foundation (2014–2020)
Former Member, Governance Committee, Make-A-Wish OC (2018–2020)
Former President and Member, Board of Directors, Orange County Bar Foundation (2006–2018)
Former Member, Board of Directors, Orange County Federal Bar Association (2010–2014)