Dinita James has extensive experience litigating complex matters in state and federal court, including large employment discrimination class actions and wage and hour collective actions. She also represents employers in defense of individual cases arising under anti-discrimination, whistleblower protection and anti-retaliation laws and in enforcement of non-competition and other restrictive covenants.
Dinita currently serves as Director of the Publications Division of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation, having recently completed a one-year term as Managing Director of the Section. For three years she co-chaired the ABA Litigation Section's Committee on Class Actions and Derivative Suits and was elected in 2006 to serve a three-year term on the Litigation Section's governing Council. She chaired the Council's Diversity Committee for two years. She also chaired its CLE Committee, after being honored for two consecutive years with the Section's Award of Excellence for CLE Programming. She is a Past President of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and the Ferguson-White American Inn of Court.
Before law school, Dinita worked for more than seven years as a reporter and editor for the Greensboro News & Record and the Tampa Tribune and now advises clients on dealing with the media in high-profile cases. Dinita graduated first in her law school class and served as Executive Articles Editor for the North Carolina Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif.
Since May 2011, Dinita has been blogging about legal marijuana in the Arizona workplace after the recent passage of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. Her blog can be found at www.arizoneout.blogspot.com. She is a member of the Employers Counsel Network, and is the Arizona editor for 50 Employment Laws in 50 States, and edits the Arizona Employment Law Letter.
Recent Experience*
· Represented a metals distributor in a federal trial of a non-competition matter.
· Represented a medical practice and its management company against tort claims and a breach of contract claim brought by a physician.
· Litigated before the Nevada Supreme Court regarding enforcement in that state of restrictive covenants acquired by merger.
Recent Publications
· The Plaintiff's Revenge: Applying Twombly/Igbal Pleadings Standards to Defenses, ABA Section of Litigation 2011 Environmental, Mass Torts & Products Liability Committees' Joint CLE Seminar
· "Teaching and Learning From Others," chapter in The Woman Advocate, 2nd, April 2010
· Editor, Arizona Employment Law Letter
· "The Collective/Class Conundrum in Aggregated Employment Litigation," Class Actions, ABA-CLE 2006
Honors and Awards
· "Southwest Super Lawyers"
· "Florida's Legal Elite" by Florida Trend magazine
· AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
*Per Florida Bar rules, information on litigation and other legal successes has not been disclosed but is available upon request.
Memberships
State Bar of Arizona
American Bar Association
Maricopa County Bar Association
Arizona Women Lawyers Association
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Sandra Day O'Connor Inn of Court
(Also at Phoenix, Arizona Office)