James Bacchus is one of two Chairs of the firm's Global Practice Group. He is a leader in the firm's overall worldwide practice, with an emphasis in his own practice on international business, including trade, investment, and finance. In particular, Bacchus offers legal and strategic advice to worldwide clients based on his unique experience with the many issues relating to the global rules for trade and commerce of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He is a former Chief Judge on the highest international tribunal of world trade, a former Member of the Congress of the United States, and a former Special Assistant to the United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President.
Bacchus returned to the firm after a leave of absence during which he served as the Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, the global court of final appeal in international trade in Geneva, Switzerland. The seven judges of the Appellate Body hear final appeals in international trade disputes involving 95 percent of world commerce conducted by the more than five billion people in more than 150 countries and other customs territories that are the members of the WTO.
In December 2003, Bacchus completed eight years and two terms on the Appellate Body. He was a founding member of the highest global trade tribunal, was twice appointed by consensus of the members of the WTO and was twice elected chairman by his six colleagues. During his eight years of service to the members of the WTO, he was the only American, and the only North American, on the Appellate Body.
Bacchus was the only member of the Appellate Body who served on the tribunal during all of the 60 appeals in the first eight years of the new international trade institution, which is the global successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The international trade disputes he judged involved billions of dollars in trade annually relating to goods, services and intellectual property. Cases ranged from apples and bananas, to automobiles and airplanes, to semiconductors and supercomputers, to agriculture, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and steel.
Bacchus' final decision for the WTO was as the presiding judge in the appeal in the complaint by the European Union, Japan, China, Brazil, and other WTO Members against restrictions applied by the United States on imports of steel. Following the decision by the United States to comply with the ruling by Bacchus and his colleagues on the Appellate Body, The New York Times concluded that "this case was the rough equivalent of Marbury v. Madison, the 1803 decision that established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of the constitution, able to force Congress and the executive branch to comply with its rulings" (Page 25, December 5, 2003). According to The American Lawyer, "James Bacchus, as much as anyone, can lay claim to being the John Marshall of the World Trade Organization," (March, 2004).
In addition to his service at the WTO, Bacchus has also served as a Member of the Congress of the United States, from 1991 to 1995, representing the 15th Congressional District of Florida as a Member of the United States House of Representatives. His district included much of Orlando, Walt Disney World®, Cape Canaveral, and the "Space Coast" of Central Florida. Bacchus was elected to two terms in the Congress and chose not to seek election to a third term. He was the first Democrat in the history of the South to be elected to an open seat in the Congress in a district where republicans outnumbered democrats.
While in the Congress, Bacchus was a leader in bipartisan efforts to advance international trade issues. He was a supporter of presidential "fast-track" negotiating authority on trade issues, a leading supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a vocal advocate of extending most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment for China, a champion of the Caribbean Basin Initiative and one of the six original co-sponsors of the implementing legislation for the Uruguay Round trade agreements that established the WTO.
Bacchus was also one of the principal supporters of the space program in the Congress. He was a forceful advocate for commercial space development and for space exploration. He was one of the leading supporters of the space shuttle program, one of the original co-sponsors of the International Space Station and an advocate generally for more public and private investments in science and technology. Bacchus was especially active on issues relating to children, education, and the environment.
Bacchus' service in Congress drew wide praise. The Washington Post described him as one of the "profiles in courage" in the House. The Wall Street Journal called him a "good-government Democrat." In his home state, the Orlando Sentinel praised him as someone who put "his country's future before his own political career" and chose "to lead in the midst of the crowd."Florida Today concluded that he offered "the vision and leadership needed to build a better future."
Bacchus' intimate involvement in trade issues in Congress was a natural outgrowth of his previous experience. From 1974 to 1976, he served as a senior aide to Florida Governor Reubin Askew. From 1979 to 1981, Bacchus served as his special assistant while Askew was the U.S. Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President during the Carter Administration. At USTR, he helped monitor U.S. trade negotiations worldwide, and helped negotiate and implement trade agreements with numerous nations. Bacchus was the first Member of the Congress of the United States to have served previously at USTR.
After retiring from the Congress in 1995, Bacchus founded the firm's Orlando office and served as the Managing Shareholder for the next six years while also serving on the Appellate Body.
In addition to his current role with the firm, Bacchus has been a Visiting Professor of International Law at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Politics at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China. He is a former journalist, and is a recipient of the national "Silver Gavel Award" of the American Bar Association for Outstanding Public Service in Journalism.
Bacchus is a member of the Commission on Trade and Investment Policy of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, also in Paris. He is Chairman of the ICC's Working Group on Guidelines for International Investment. Bacchus is a member of the Global Agenda Council on Trade of the Davos-based World Economic Forum, and is Chairman of the WEF's Working Group on Trade and Climate Change. He works with both the ICC and the WEF in advising the G-20 group of leading economies on the global business agenda. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bretton Woods Committee and the Evian Group. He served as one of the nine members of the Independent Review Group appointed by the Secretary of Defense to investigate conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Bacchus is the author of the book Trade and Freedom, published in London in 2004, by Cameron May, featured nationally on "Book TV," and sold worldwide. He writes and speaks frequently on international issues in publications and on platforms worldwide.
Professional & Community Involvement
· Member, American Bar Association
· Member, District of Columbia Bar
· Member, The Florida Bar
· Member, International Bar Association
· Member, International Law Association
Awards & Recognition
· Listed, Chambers Global, International Trade: Trade Remedies & Trade Policy, 2008-2009, 2011-2012
· Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers, 2007-2012
- International Edition, 2007-2008
· Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2006-2012
· Listed, Chambers USA Guide, Real Estate Law, 2007-2011
· Alumnus of the Year, "Grad Made Good," Florida State University, 2005
· Recognized, Florida Trend magazine "Florida's Influential," 2004
· Rated, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Articles
· Author, "Export Drop Shows Need for New Trade Strategy," Huffington Post, August 26, 2011
· Author, "China's Incentive to Heed the WTO," The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2011
· Author, "Time to Cut Farm Subsidies Now," The Hill, July 6, 2011
· Author, "Trade, Growth, and Green," Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, June 21, 2011
· Author, "Politics for Grownups: A Competitive America for a Competitive World," Remarks to the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, June 8, 2011
· Author, "Indonesian Forest Plan May Be Breakthrough on Forest Plan," Huffington Post, May 24, 2011
· Author, "A Rare-Earths Showdown Looms," The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2011
· Author, "Former WTO Judge: Putin's Cynical Effort to Get Russia into WTO," International Business Times, May 6, 2011
· Quoted, "Supplies Squeezed, Rare Earth Prices Surge," New York Times, May 2, 2011
· Author, "US Financial Problems Similar to Jefferson's Debt," The Hill, April 19, 2011
· Author, "Japan, Supply Chains and Adam Smith," International Business Times, April 6, 2011
· Author, "Can We Still See and Serve Our True National Self-Interest," Huffington Post, March 30, 2011
· Author, "American Competitiveness Needs Space Program," The Hill, March 16, 2011
· Author, "Chinese Drought Could Cause Global Food Crisis," Huffington Post, March 16, 2011
· Author, "Concluding Doha Now," The Journal of Commerce, March 7, 2011
· Author, "How the US Can Create Jobs by Improving China Trade," International Business Times, February 4, 2011
· Quoted, "How Trade Policy Can Save the Planet," Counsel to Counsel, Fall 2010
· Author, "China's entering WTO is Successful: Former Chair of WTO Appellate Body," China Business News, September 16, 2010
· Author, "Russian Export Ban Mirrors Old Error," International Business Times, August 31, 2010
· Author, "The Case for Free Trade with Panama," Latin Trade, August 12, 2010
· Author, "Is Progress Still Possible in This Heat?" Huffington Post, August 4, 2010
· Author, "Obama Must Discover the WTO," Huffington Post, July 26, 2010
· Author, "Roll Back Protectionism," International Business Times, July 14, 2010
· Author, "A Trade War with Zero Currency," The Wall Street Journal Asia, July 12, 2010
· Author, "Diverting A U.S. - China Trade War," Forbes.com, June 28, 2010
· Quoted, "Government Review to Examine Threat of World Resources Shortage," The Guardian, May 31, 2010
· Author, "Global Finance Proposal Threatens Trade Finance," Huffington Post, May 25, 2010
· Author, "Hoarding Resources Threatens Free Trade," The Wall Street Journal Asia, May 19, 2010
· Author, "Give Air Cargo a Lift," The Journal of Commerce, May 10, 2010
· Author, "Don't Let Financial Reform Politicize the Fed," Huffington Post, April 29, 2010
· Author, "Combating Climate Change," Forbes.com, April 26, 2010
· Author, "Danish Détente," The Deal Magazine, April 16, 2010
· Author, "US Risks Becoming Economic Afterthought in Latin America," Huffington Post, April 15, 2010
· Author, "Don't Push the WTO Beyond Its Limits," The Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2010
· Author, "Brazil Tests Obama Commitment to Trade Enforcement," Huffington Post, March 23, 2010
· Author, "Trading Up," Forbes.com, March 4, 2010
· Author, "Banks Without Borders," The Deal Magazine, February 19, 2010
· Author, "We Need More NAFTA, Not Less," The Miami Herald, February 15, 2010
· Author, "Obama's Plan for NASA and Reaffirming Our Commitment to Space Exploration," Huffington Post, February 9, 2010
· Author, "Next Chapter For Climate Change," Forbes.com, January 13, 2010
· Author, "Breaking the Deadlock at Doha," The Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2009
· Quoted, "'Glass House' of Subsidies Means U.S. WTO Wins May Be Harder," Bloomberg.com, September 9, 2009
· Author, "A 21st-Century Trade Agenda," The Deal Magazine, April 2009
· Author, "Climate Change is a Trade Issue, Too" Forbes.com, March 29, 2009
· Author, "Economic Nationalism Will Undermine Recovery," Chicago Tribune.com, February 8, 2009
· Author, "Brave New World - An Agenda on International Policy For President Obama," The Deal Magazine, February 6, 2009
· Author, "What A Trade War With China Would Look Like," Forbes.com, February 2, 2009
· Author, "After the Bailout, Tariffs?," Forbes.com, December 19, 2008
· Interview, "James Bacchus Urges Obama to Work with Trade Partners in the Americas," Council of the Americas, January 13, 2009
· Author, "Free Trade Should Be Part of the Stimulus Plan," The Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2008
· Author, "The Aristotelian," Law in the Service of Human Dignity - Essays in Honour of Florentino Feliciano, Cambridge University Press, 14-21, 2005
· Author, "Chains Across the Rhine," Amicus Curiae, Journal of the School of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, Issue 58, 10-15, March/April 2005
· Author, "The Garden," Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 28, Number 2, January 2005
· Author, "Appellators: The Quest for the Meaning of and/or," World Trade Review, Volume 4, Number 3, 499-523, 2005
· Author, "Trade and Truth - Advice for Americans from an Advocate for Trade," The Journal of World Investment & Trade, Volume 5, Number 5, October 2004
· Author, "A Few Thoughts on Legitimacy, Democracy, and the WTO," Journal of International Economic Law, Volume 7, Number 3, 667, September 2004
· Author, "The New Trade Law: What It Means to Business," Vanderbilt Business, Volume 24, Number 1, 24, Summer, 2004
· Author, "Turning to Tacitus," Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Volume 37, Number 3, 631, May 2004
· Author, "Lone Star: The Historic Role of the WTO," University of Texas, Texas International Law Journal, Volume 39, Issue 3, March 2004
· Author, "The WTO Must Open Up its Trade Dispute Proceedings," European Affairs, Volume 5, Number 2, 88-92, Spring 2004
· Author, "Open Up the WTO," The Washington Post, February 20, 2004
· Author, "Groping Toward Grotius: The WTO and the International Rule of Law," Harvard International Law Journal, Volume 44, Number 2, 535, Summer 2003
· Author, "Thoreau's Pencil: Sharpening Our Understanding of World Trade," The Florida State University Law Review, Volume 30, Number 4, 911, Summer 2003
· Author, "The Bicycle Club: Affirming the American Interest in the Future of the WTO," Journal of World Trade, Volume 37, Number 3, 429, June 2003
· Author, "The Strange Death of Sir Francis Bacon: The Do's and Don'ts of Appellate Advocacy in the WTO," Legal Issues of Economic Integration, Volume 31, Issue, 13-24, 2004
· Author, "An Education in 404 Pages," Vanderbilt Magazine, Spring 2003
· Author, "Table Talk: Around the Table of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization,"Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Volume 35, Number 4, 1021, October 2002
· Author, "Symposium Address: The Role of Lawyers in the WTO," Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Volume 34, Number 4, 953, October 2001
Books
· Author, Trade and Freedom, published by Cameron May, London, 2004
Lectures
· Speaker, "From Collision to Vision: Climate Change and World Trade," World Economic Forum, November 2010
· Speaker, Keynote Address, "Questions in Search of Answers: Trade, Climate Change, and the Rule of Law," WTO Conference, Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2010
· Speaker, "Testimony of James Bacchus to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission," Washington, D.C., June 9, 2010
· Speaker, "Open Doors for Open Trade: Shining Light on WTO Dispute Settlement," Address to the National Foreign Trade Council, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., January 29, 2004
· Speaker, "Lecky's Circle: Thoughts from the Frontier of International Law," Address to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, April 10, 2003
· Speaker, "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda": The Consolations of WTO Dispute Settlement," Address to the International Bar Association, Le Richemond Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland, March 20, 2003
· Speaker, "The Appeals of Trade: The Making of an Old GATT Hand," Address to the American Bar Association, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., January 31, 2003
(Also at Washington, D.C. Office)