James Altman has successfully tried cases and arbitrations and argued appeals in a wide variety of civil cases across the country. In addition to general commercial matters, Mr. Altman has concentrated a substantial portion of his time on issues of professional liability and legal ethics and the representation of foreign entities and individuals in domestic litigation.
Mr. Altman has developed both a broad and deep understanding about the professional obligations of lawyers as the result of his chairmanship of the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Attorney Professionalism, his active tenure on the professional ethics committees of that Association and of the City Bar, his teaching as an adjunct professor at the Brooklyn Law School, and his regular columns on ethics in the New York Law Journal. He has represented or sued lawyers in malpractice cases, fraud cases, RICO actions, ERISA actions, sanction cases, professional disciplinary proceedings, and disqualification motions. He is often consulted by lawyers for his ethical advice and opinions about lawyers' professional obligations and liabilities and has served as an expert witness on such issues.
Mr. Altman also has experience in representing foreign entities, such as banks, private equity funds, airlines and other corporations, sued or suing in this country. He has represented such entities in pre-judgment attachment proceedings, international arbitrations, post-arbitration enforcement proceedings, and commercial lawsuits. He has defended foreign entities and individuals using attacks on personal and quasi-in-rem jurisdiction, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and conflict of laws.
Bar and Court Admissions
- New York, 1982
- Connecticut, 1975
- District of Columbia, 1976
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits
- United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Education
- Yale University, J.D., 1975
- Yale University, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1971