Mr. James Irving

JIM chairs the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group and is the firm’s Office Managing Partner — and the youngest member of the firm’s leadership. In addition to his business insolvency practice, he is responsible for the management of approximately 70 lawyers and 50 staff members in the firm’s second-largest office. His duties include managing the office’s budgets, attending to personnel issues, developing strategies for lateral recruiting, coordinating with marketing and practice group leaders to generate new business, and representing the firm in the local community.

Jim sits on the advisory board of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, and he has also had a number of leadership positions in college (class president), law school (Bar Association president), the community (boards) and at his firm. In addition, he received the Chicago Bar Association’s and Chicago Bar Foundation’s Maurice Weigel Exceptional Young Lawyer Award in 2013, Pro Bono Volunteer of the Month from IllinoisProBono.org in 2011, and the Pro Bono Award from his previous firm, DLA Piper LLP (US), in 2009.

A volunteer for the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) program, Jim gives presentations to area students and young adults on financial literacy. In 2009, he was part of a group of individuals who identified a need for funding for civil legal services, especially in light of the financial crisis at that time. The group raised the profile of, and money for, the Legal Assistance Foundation, Chicago’s largest pro bono provider and the sponsor of the help desk at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. He has also represented dozens of juveniles in criminal proceedings in Illinois state court, and he is a founding member of the Young Professionals Board of the Legal Aid Society of Louisville, for which he still actively volunteers.