James J. O'Connor

James O’Connor’s employment law practice involves consulting with clients on compliance matters and advocating on behalf of clients in litigation matters. He has extensive experience with asserting and defending insurance-related claims and coached clients through cybersecurity/data breach events. In the Name Image and Likeness space, he has documented marketing agreements for Student Athletes and drafted NIL policies for universities. He has been a registered civil mediator for more than 13 years and has significant experience with negotiations of all kinds.

James is ranked an AV® Preeminent* rated attorney based on Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review ratings. An active member in several professional and community organizations, he is or has been a member of associations such as the Allen County Judicial Nominating Commission, the Benjamin Harrison chapter of the American Inns of Court, the Allen County and Indiana State Bar associations, and the Defense Research Institute. He is a member of the Mad Anthony’s Children’s Foundation, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Mastodons Athletics Advisory Board, and the Northeast Indiana Base Community Council, which supports U.S. military bases and armories in the 11 county region of northeast Indiana. He was a “Future 40 Under 40” award recipient from Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. He was selected for inclusion in the 2018 Indiana Super Lawyers® publication in the area of litigation and was recognized as a “Rising Star” by the publication for the years 2011, 2014, and 2015. He was selected for inclusion in the 2021 Best Lawyers in America® publication. James regularly presents at local, statewide and national seminars on topics, including employment law policies, cyber security protection, data breach response, worker’s compensation matters, alternative dispute resolution and issues concerning the use of a college student athlete’s name, image and likeness.

James received his B.A., Psychology, in 1997 from Emory University, Atlanta. He earned his J.D. in 2001 from Loyola University College of Law, New Orleans. He is admitted to practice before the Indiana state courts, the U.S. Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana. He is also licensed by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as a player representative/agent.

* AV® Preeminent ™ is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. The AV rating is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.