Education:
- Juris Doctor – University of California, Davis, 2010
- B.A., Philosophy – California State University, Bakersfield, 2007
Professional Affiliations:
- Kern County Bar Association, 2010 – present - Secretary, 2023 - Director, 2019 – 2022 - Director, Charitable Foundation, 2017 - Chair, Young Lawyers Section, 2016 - Director, Young Lawyers Section, 2012 – 2017
- Active 20-30 Club - President, 2021 - Vice-President, 2020 - Sergeant-at-Arms, 2019 - Director, 2019 – present
- Kern County College of Law - Faculty, 2019 – present
Bar Admissions:
- State Bar of California, 2010
- Eastern District of California, 2011
- Central District of California, 2011
- Northern District of California, 2011
- Southern District of California, 2011
James Harvey focuses his practice in the areas of personal injury defense and business and commercial law, with an emphasis on litigation and litigation avoidance planning. Since his admission to the California State Bar in 2010, James has successfully assisted his clients with a wide range of commercial and personal injury matters collectively involving hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute and over 100 full court days in trial. James’s legal passion project, however, is avoidance planning. He is fond of encouraging business owners to become his (strategic planning) client so they can avoid becoming his (litigation defense) client.
James is a Bakersfield native, and when not in the office or the courtroom, remains heavily involved in the local legal and professional communities. Outside commitments and activities include serving as a director and officer for the Kern County Bar Association, local body president of an international non-profit children’s charity (Active 20-30 Club), and a faculty member at the Kern County College of Law where he teaches courses on business law, corporations, partnerships, and agency. James is also a former Chair of the Kern County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section but has since, unfortunately, aged out of Young Lawyers.
In his spare time, James enjoys golfing, urban hiking, chess, bowling, music recording and production, and spending time with his wife Kathryn and their Chihuahua mix, Penny.