James A. Feldman

James A. Feldman is an attorney at law with a solo practice in Washington, D.C., specializing in Supreme Court litigation. From 1989 to 2006, he was an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice, with responsibility for representing the government in cases in the Supreme Court. He has argued 49 cases before the Court and been responsible for briefing more than one hundred others. A few of the significant cases he has briefed or argued for a party or amicus are McDonald v. Chicago, 130 S Ct. 3020 (2010) (application of the Second Amendment to the States); Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000) (validity of Miranda rule); United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688 (1993) (double jeopardy); Whren v. United States 517 U.S. 806 (1996) (Fourth Amendment); Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996) (psychotherapist-patient privilege); Johnson v. DeGrandy, 512 U.S. 997 (1994)(voting rights); New York State Conf. of Blue Cross and Blue Shield v. Travelers Ins., 514 U.S. 645 (1995) (preemption); National Cable & Telecomms. Ass'n v. Gulf Power Co. 534 U.S. 327 (2002) (communications law); Nat’l Cable & Telecomms. Ass’n v. Brand X Internet Servs., 545 U.S. 967 (2005) (communications and administrative law); AT&T Mobility Servs. v. Concepcion, 131 S. Ct. 1740 (2011) (arbitration and class actions); Jones v. Harris Assocs.130 S. Ct. 1418 (2010) (securities law); National Fed'n of Ind. Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) (Affordable Care Act); King v. Burwell, 135 S.Ct. 2580 (2015). He was appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae to brief and argue Levin v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 1224 (2013).  He has also participated in briefing and preparation of many of the University of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Law Clinic's cases.

He co-taught a seminar on Supreme Court Practice and Process at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia in 2009-2012, and was an instructor in the University of Pennsylvania Law School Supreme Court Clinic from 2012 to 2018.  He has been awarded the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award, the Department of Justice John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement for Handling of Appeals, and the Federal Bar Association's Justice Tom C. Clark Award for outstanding accomplishments as a federal government lawyer.

Mr. Feldman received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1983, and he then served as a law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., of the United States Supreme Court, and Judge J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He worked at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale), and he served for two years as an Associate Independent Counsel with the Office of Independent Counsel (Iran/Contra).

He is a former President and current Trustee of the Washington National Opera.  He is the Vice-Chair of the the Forward Association.