James is an experienced appellate litigator and partner in Akin Gump's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice. He's handled dozens of complex matters on appeal and in high-stakes trial litigation, prepared more than 75 appellate briefs in cases at every appellate level (including more than 25 briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States), and successfully argued cases in multiple circuit courts of appeals as well as other federal and state courts. He's a D.C. Circuit Clerk and Supreme Court Fellow, University of Virginia graduate and proud father of four.
SYLVIE DOUGLIS, BYLINE: NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF DROP ELECTRIC SONG, "WAKING UP TO THE FIRE")
In cases where a question of statutory interpretation is genuinely ambiguous, it used to be the case that courts would have to defer to a reasonable agency interpretation of the statute.