James D. McCarthy

James D. McCarthy is a founding partner of Diamond McCarthy. Based in the firm’s Dallas office, Jim represents clients in domestic and international litigation and arbitration matters.

Jim handles disputes regarding commercial contracts, RICO, antitrust, fraud and other business torts, securities, lender liability, officer and director liability, and professional malpractice. His extensive experience includes litigation and arbitration involving the financial services, reinsurance and insurance, real estate, and oil and gas industries, and litigation and arbitration involving a wide range of corporate transactions. Jim also has substantial experience with environmental litigation, business bankruptcies and insolvency-related litigation.

High-profile, high-stakes litigation with international reach is a hallmark of Jim’s career. He is currently co-leading the Diamond McCarthy legal team in a suit against multinational mining companies alleged to have caused severe injuries to the environment, economy and people of the Philippine island province of Marinduque. Jim is also co-leading teams involved in billion dollar fraudulent transfer litigation in the Austin bankruptcy court, international antitrust litigation in San Francisco, qui tam litigation in Miami, and in the investigation and prosecution of claims related to a collapsed Midwestern homebuilder.

Jim has represented clients in federal district and bankruptcy courts in numerous states. He has also practiced before the 2nd, 5th, 8th, 9th and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals; before the Court of Claims; before the U.S. Supreme Court; and in numerous state courts around the country.

Before becoming an attorney, Jim served as a lecturer in American History and Government and in Criminal Justice Studies for the University of Maryland in Germany, England, Holland and Iran from 1975-1978, and in the U.S. from 1978-1979. He also served as a Military Police Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Jim has served in leadership positions with the American, Texas and Dallas Bar Associations, and is a member of numerous professional and civic organizations. He has been named as a Texas Super Lawyer four times, and has been selected by his peers as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" (Bankruptcy: 2013). He is a sought-after lecturer on topics that include international business law, insolvency and the implications of the subprime meltdown.

Jim is admitted to practice in Texas and New York.

Publications

• "When a Corporation Dies: A Dialogue on the Rights and Remedies Available to Victims of a Corporate Collapse", Trial Magazine (June, 2006) (with Bert Black and Eric Madden).
• "Perils of International Arbitration", Texas Lawyer (March 7, 1999) at 26 (with Greg Taylor).
• "The Year in Review: Civil Litigation", Texas Lawyer (December 14, 1998) at 21 (with Doak Bishop).
• "Avoiding Global Litigation Glitches: Ten Traps for the Unwary in International Suits", Texas Lawyer (August 31, 1998) at 19-20.
• "The New Face of International Arbitration", Texas Lawyer (June 29, 1998) at 30-31 (with Doak Bishop) reprinted in Washington Legal Times (August 3, 1998) at S32.

Speaking Engagements

• The Next Four Years: Thoughts on the Law and Practice of International Business During Obama I" (May 19, 2009 Panel presentation to the Dallas Bar Association's International Law Section) (panel moderator).
• "The Subprime Meltdown from an Insolvency Litigation Perspective" (September 5-6, 2008 Panel at the American Bankruptcy Institute's Southwestern Bankruptcy Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada).
• "Subprime 101: The Subprime Meltdown and its Legal Implications" (February 15, 2008 Speech to the Dallas Bar Association) (with Gary Cruciani)
• "Forum Non Conveniens: The Battle Over the Most Suitable Forum for International Litigation" (October 16, 2007 Speech to the Dallas Bar Association International Law Section) (with David Ammons).
• "Recent Developments in Professional Liability in the Bankruptcy/Insolvency Context" (for State Bar of Texas' Advanced Business Bankruptcy Seminar in Austin, Texas on May 12-13, 2005).
• "Deepening Insolvency" (November 18, 2004 Panel for the University of Texas School of Law's 23rd Annual Bankruptcy Conference in Austin, Texas).
• "Litigation Support: Are Disenfranchised Constituencies Using Litigation to Obtain a Post-Confirmation Recovery" (September 20, 2004 Panel for the American Bankruptcy Institute Seminar on "Workouts, Restructurings, and M& Transaction Alternatives: The Dealmaker's Perspective" in New York City)
• "Deepening Insolvency: Practical Reality and Emerging Legal Theory" (November 5, 2003 Speech to the Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section) (with Eric D. Madden)
• "The United States Liability Environment for Officers, Directors, and the Professionals Assisting Them" (June 28, 2003 Speech to the Center for International Legal Studies Conference on "Corporate Governance in an International Marketplace" in Salzburg, Austria.)
• "Enron, et al.: First and Second Tier Implications for Business Litigators and Other Lawyers" (February 11, 2003 Speech to the Dallas Bar Association Business Litigation Section)
• "Shareholder Litigation in the Shadow of Bankruptcy: the Low Priority Claimants' Search for Justice" (April 5, 2002 Speech to the Houston Bar Association Seminar on "Lessons from Enron - The Issues We Face When Big Companies Fail") (paper with Scott DeWolf and Eric Madden)
• "Mediation as an International Dispute Resolution Tool: Mock Mediation" (Arbitration and ADR Committees of the International Bar Association: at Barcelona, Spain Annual Meeting, September, 1999)
• "Legal Fees: the Legal, Ethical and Practical Issues" (November, 1998 National Business Institute seminar in Indianapolis, Indiana) (with others)
• "How Should Lawyers Behave in ADR" (Arbitration and ADR and Corporate Counsel Committees of the International Bar Association: at Vancouver, Canada Annual Meeting, October, 1998)
• "Law Firm Billing: Getting It Right, and the Criminal, Civil and Ethical Implications of Getting It Wrong" (March 1998 speech to the Dallas Bar Association) (with J. Gregory Taylor)
• "The Basic Problems of International Litigation in U.S. Courts: Plaintiff's and Defendant's Perspectives" (July 12, 1994 Speech to the Dallas Bar Association Business Litigation Section) (with R. Doak Bishop).

Representative Cases

• With Trip Finley, Jim is currently leading a team of Diamond McCarthy lawyers investigating and potentially prosecuting claims on behalf of the Chapter 7 trustee in the Pasquinelli Homebuilding, LLC, et al. bankruptcy (Northern District of Illinois).
• With Rob Sadowski and Miami co-counsel, Jim is also prosecuting qui tam and retaliation claims in Miami Federal Court. Those claims related to the allegedly unlawful drawdown of federal grant monies by Miami-Dade Transit.
• With Skip Scott, Jim is currently leading a team of Diamond McCarthy lawyers in a Nevada state court lawsuit against multinational mining companies alleged to have caused severe injuries to the environment and economy of the Philippine island province of Marinduque, and to its people.  The case has involved proceedings in the Nevada federal and state courts, the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
• Jim and Trip Finley, and a team of Diamond McCarthy lawyers have joint-ventured with several other law firms, to prosecute a number of very substantial claims arising out of the bankruptcies of Crescent Resources, LLC, Crescent Holdings, LLC and nearly two hundred of their subsidiaries. The cases filed to date (on behalf of the post-confirmation Trustee) are directed at the parent corporation, and those of the debtors’ officers, directors and lawyers responsible for those entities’ collapse. The case is filed in the bankruptcy court in the Western District of Texas, Austin Division.
• With Jason Fulton, Jim and a team of law firms are currently prosecuting antitrust claims owned by the post-confirmation trust arising out of the Syntax-Brillian bankruptcy. The claims asserted on behalf of the Trust assert an international price-fixing conspiracy relating to the liquid crystal display panels used in Syntax-Brillian televisions and in numerous other electronic devices. The SB Trust claims are part of the TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation in San Francisco.
• With Trip Finley, Jim recently led a team of Diamond McCarthy lawyers that restructured one of the newest and largest and most environmentally sophisticated landfill businesses in the United States in proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court in Mobile, Alabama.
• A Diamond McCarthy team led by Jim successfully represented the Chapter 7 Trustee for Precept Business Services, Inc. in bankruptcy litigation (N.D.Tex.) against the officers, directors and professionals of the Precept Debtors. In that litigation, the team prosecuted not only the usual estate and generalized creditor claims, but also pressed secured lender claims that had been assigned to the estate. Like many of Diamond McCarthy's engagements, this one began with a formal investigation into the areas of potential liability.
• Jim and other Diamond McCarthy attorneys have also acted as Special Counsel to the Creditors Committee in the Friede Goldman Halter bankruptcy (S.D.Miss.), and to its successor liquidating trust. In that role, the firm was charged with investigating and, where appropriate, prosecuting litigation against the officers, directors and professionals who once served the Friede Goldman companies. Major actions brought against certain former officers, directors, and professionals were successfully concluded.
• Jim also led a Diamond McCarthy team representing the Chapter 7 Trustee in the Southeast Banking Corporation bankruptcy (S.D.Fla.) in prosecuting numerous civil claims against the former officers, directors, and professionals of Southeast. Those proceedings concluded successfully, with the results greatly benefiting the Southeast bankruptcy estate and its creditors.
• In the Livent litigation and bankruptcy (S.D.N.Y.), Jim and other Diamond McCarthy lawyers brought: (1) a securities fraud class action on behalf of institutional and individual noteholders of the notes of Livent, Inc.; and (2) a parallel and reinforcing equitable subordination action against Livent's lead lender, on behalf of the Creditors Committee. A comprehensive, multi-case settlement with that lender was successfully concluded to the great benefit of the estate and its creditors.
• Jim also led the Diamond McCarthy team that successfully prosecuted, on behalf of Jewel Recovery, L.P., the Zale Jewelers post-confirmation litigation entity, those causes of action held by one of the world's largest jewelry companies and its creditors. This engagement involved the management of hundreds of suits in bankruptcy and other courts in the U.S. and Canada, and the resolution of complex questions of liability and damages relating to company officers and directors, the professionals who served them, and their insurers. By reason of the efforts of the Diamond McCarthy lawyers, Jewel Recovery substantially benefited Zale's creditors.
• Litigation and arbitration proceedings between an international reinsurance syndicate and related companies, and their former U.K., Irish and U.S. fronting companies.
• The successful prosecution and settlement of a complex suit charging insurance and reinsurance fraud by U.S. and off-shore (primarily Bermuda) insurers and reinsurers.
• The representation of Citicorp and a Citicorp borrower in a contingency fee antitrust action directed at the predatory practices of the competitor whose acts forced the Citicorp borrower out of business. As a result of these attorneys' work, in the state courts of New Mexico and Texas, and in the federal court in El Paso, Citicorp and the borrower obtained a very substantial settlement from the alleged predator, its German foreign parent entities, and certain of their German and American officers and directors.
• The defense of numerous Texas, national and international financial institutions in connection with lender liability and similar actions.
• Service as U.S. litigation counsel for a German real estate investment company.
• Trial to a multi-million dollar jury verdict in favor of a corporate taxpaying client.
• On behalf of the Reinsurance Association of America, the defense and settlement of the Texas and multi-state antitrust litigation against British and domestic insurers and reinsurers.
• The investigation of a multi-million dollar bank fraud and the handling of all fidelity bond, civil litigation, bankruptcy, and criminal prosecution issues relating to that fraud.

• Jim McCarthy Applauds Solicitor General's Brief Regarding Placer Dome Inc.'s Controversial Mine in Marinduque

• James D. McCarthy Moderated panel The Next Four Years: Thoughts on the Law and Practice of International Business During Obama I, Dallas Bar Association International Law Section (May 19, 2009)
• James D. McCarthy and David Ammons co-authors, Forum Non Conveniens: The Battle Over The Most Suitable Forum For International Litigation, presented to the Dallas Bar Association, International Law Section (October 2007)
• James D. McCarthy and Kyung S. Lee  co-authors, Deepening Insolvency, 23rd Annual Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (November 2004)
• James D. McCarthy Litigation Support: Are Disenfranchised Constituencies Using Litigation to Obtain a Post-Confirmation Recovery, American Bankruptcy Institute Seminar on Workouts, Restructurings, and M&A Transaction Alternatives: The Dealmaker's Perspective, New York, NY (September 2004)
• Eric D. Madden, speaker, Deepening Insolvency: Practical Reality and Emerging Legal Theory, presented to the Dallas Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section (November 2003)
• Eric D. Madden, co-authors, Shareholder Litigation in the Shadow of Bankruptcy: The Low Priority Claimants' Search for Justice, presented at the Houston Bar Association Seminar "Lessons from Enron - The Issues We Face When Big Companies Fail" (April 2002)