James E. Barton advises and defends employers and other entities in all aspects of civil litigation and administrative agency actions. His practice focuses on employment law, fair housing, civil rights, insurance coverage, and other commercial litigation matters.  

James’s experience includes the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws for the federal government, including Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act, Title II, and Section 504. In this role, James worked closely with local governments, school districts, and leading public and private universities to ensure proactive compliance with these laws. Before serving as an attorney for the federal government, James clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit, assisting all the judges of the court with deciding complex civil and criminal appeals, including a later United States Supreme Court Justice. 

James earned his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in the top 20% of his class. While in law school, James served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Michael Joseph Reagan, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. He also interned for the Illinois Department of Corrections and worked for a well-respected plaintiff’s firm specializing in toxic torts. James was an executive editor of the Washington University Law Review, a member of the Public Service Advisory Board, and received awards for academic excellence and the highest grade in Torts.

James is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.