Focused. Skilled. Efficient.
James Holmes
Contact Me:
Practice Areas:
- Oil & Gas
- Business Litigation
- Oil & Gas Litigation
- Appeals
- Business Formation
Biography
James enjoys a diverse practice of oil and gas cases and related transactional and regulatory work, business cases and transactional work, real-estate and contract disputes, and close-corporation and shareholder-oppression cases. Apart from his business expertise, he has handled many tort cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic injury. He has significant trial, appellate and transactional experience and is a sought-after legal and business educational speaker. Click here for a sampling of his speeches and publications.
James was born, raised and educated in Texas. Before practicing law in Dallas, he earned his Bachelor of Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he served as an Editor on the Texas Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. Following law school, James worked as a judicial clerk for The Texas Supreme Court, for Associate Justice Nathan Hecht, who became Chief Justice and the longest-serving Justice in the history of the Court.
In addition to his law practice, James operates Robur LLC, an oil and gas first purchaser and marketer. He also manages value-investing partnerships and limited liability companies. James’s concurrent focus on his business activities and his commercial law practice gives him a unique, superior viewpoint on his clients’ legal needs and solutions therefore.
James works consistently with politically active organizations and elected officials to monitor and to improve the Texas civil justice system. To that end, James has worked with the Texas Legislature to install and to enhance the Business Court in Texas and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. Also, James’s academic writings and testimony to the Texas Legislature resulted in pro-business improvements to Texas’s judgment-supersedeas law: namely, the Legislature revised Chapter 52 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Section 52.007, and the Texas Supreme Court revised the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 24.2(e)-(f).
James is an active member of several professional associations, including the Dallas Bar Association and the Texas Civil Justice League. For the University of Texas System, he is a member of the Chancellor’s Council, the 1881 Society, and the Ashbel Smith Circle. He serves on the Dallas Steering Committee for the University of Texas School of Law.
James enjoys watching American sports, international travel, studying history and great architecture, and translating and teaching Latin (any form, from any century).
Education
- The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas
- Juris Doctorate
- Honors: Order of the Coif
- Law Review, Texas Law Review, Editor
- Trinity University, San Antonio
- B.S., Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Philosophy
Bar Admission
- Texas, 1996
Published Works
- Student Note, “The Disruption of Mandatory Disclosure and the Work Product Doctrine,” 73 TEX. L. REV. 177, 1994
- “The Technological Revolution for Legal Services Organizations May Change Your Practice,” TEX. BAR J., June, 2002
- “House Bill 4’s Impact on Multi-Plaintiff Joinder & Intervention and on Forum Non Conveniens,” 46 S. TEX. L. REV. 775, 2005
- “Superseding Money Judgments in Texas: Four Proposed Reforms to Help the Business Litigant," 51 ST. MARY'S L.J. 69, 2020
Classes & Seminars
- “Texas Law on Forum Non Conveniens and H.B. 4’s Changes to It,” sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, Dallas, Texas, January 2004
- “Consolidating Cases (Involving One or More Common Questions of Fact) with the Brand New Texas Multidistrict Litigation Procedure,” sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, Dallas, Texas, January 2004
- “Multi-Plaintiff Cases Under Section 15.003: Preparing, Litigating and Challenging Plaintiff Joinder and Plaintiff Intervention, and H.B. 4’s Amendments to Section 15.003,” sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, Dallas, Texas, January 2004
- “Nuisance, Why Now? Working Up the Case,” 29th Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, October 2005
- “Effective Depos: Practical Rules and Real-Life Examples,” 30th Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, October 2006
- “CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and the Texas Oil and Gas Lawyer: You two should get to know each other,” sponsored by the Dallas Bar Foundation, Dallas, Texas, August 2007
- “Removal, Remand, and Federal Jurisdiction: How to Get (and Keep) Your Case in the Forum of Your Choice,” Litigation and Trial Tactics sponsored by the University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, Texas, November/December 2007
- “Prove and Keep Your Attorney’s Fees Awards: Appreciate the Impact of the Texas Supreme Court’s 2006-2008 Attorney’s Fees Cases,” 32nd Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, October 2008
- “Removal, Remand, and Federal Jurisdiction: How to Get (and Keep) Your Case in the Forum of Your Choice,” Litigation and Trial Tactics sponsored by the University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, Texas, November/December 2008
- “Demonstrative Evidence (on a Budget),” Litigation and Trial Tactics sponsored by the University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, Texas, April 2009
- “Maximizing Contractual Damages: Lessons from Oil and Gas Work,” 33rd Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, October 2009
- “Gas Royalties,” 27th Annual NARO Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2009
- “The Careful Fee Agreement, and Proving Your Attorney’s Fees in Litigation: Controlling Case Law and Ethics Rules,” Mastering the Art of Collection Debts and Judgment sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, September 2010
- “Shale We Dance? Applying Legal Experience to Shale Gas Royalties,” 31st Annual NARO Convention, Long Beach, California, October 2011
- “Barnett Shale Gas Royalties by Large Producers,” 32nd Annual NARO Convention, Dallas, Texas, November 2012
- “Taking Care of Your Fee Agreements: Creative Approaches for the Small Firm,” 37th Annual Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, October 2013
- “Royalties Litigation: Fundamentals & Practicalities,” sponsored by EUCI of Denver, Colorado, presentation in Houston, Texas, September 2015
- “Managing Outside Counsel in Litigation,” sponsored by EUCI of Denver, Colorado, presentation in Houston, Texas, February 2016
- “Post-Production Deductions in Gas Royalties,” 2017 NARO Texas Convention, Austin, Texas, July 2017
Pro-Bono Activities
- University of Texas System, Chancellor’s Council, Member
- University of Texas System, 1881 Society, Member
- University of Texas System, Ashbel Smith Circle, Member
- University of Texas School of Law, Dallas Steering Committee
Past Positions
- The Texas Supreme Court, for Associate Justice Nathan Hecht, Judicial Clerk
Languages
- Italian
- Latin
Ancillary Businesses
- Robur LLC
- James Holmes, d/b/a “Robur Adviser” (an Investment Adviser)
- Robur L&E, Ltd. Co.
- Robur Communities LLC
Professional Associations
- Dallas Bar Association, Member
- Texas Civil Justice League, Member, Member
Current Employment Position
- Founder