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Buckley names James McGuire partner in San Francisco

WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 8, 2020) – Buckley LLP, a premier national law firm focused on financial services, white collar defense, and complex civil litigation, announced that James McGuire has joined the firm as a partner and will lead its San Francisco office.

James has more than 20 years of financial services litigation experience, and represents banks and other financial services companies in bet-the-company complex civil litigation, with a focus on consumer class-action defense.

“James has earned his reputation as an outstanding litigator through repeated successes for financial services companies, and will be instrumental in anchoring our San Francisco office,” said Benjamin B. Klubes, Buckley’s managing partner. “Our West Coast fintech and other financial services clients will benefit from his knowledge and experience.”

James has built a strong record successfully defending banks in cases that often involve claims of unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP), and frequently litigates and counsels clients on arbitration clauses. He has deep experience in the full range of consumer financial products, including credit cards, debit cards, and deposit accounts — most recently demonstrated in overdraft cases involving “authorize positive, settle negative” transactions. He has also represented financial-institution plaintiffs seeking declaratory or injunctive relief in lawsuits against state attorneys general and other government officials, and has successfully mounted preemption defenses for national banks. James is an experienced appellate lawyer and has argued more than a dozen appeals before federal appellate courts, the California Courts of Appeal, and state supreme courts.

“Buckley and I have a shared understanding of what our clients and the financial services industry need, and I am excited to join a team with such deep experience in regulatory and enforcement work,” said James. “The opportunity to help a firm with Buckley’s reputation expand in San Francisco is unique and compelling.”

James was a partner at Morrison & Foerster prior to joining Buckley. He received his J.D. from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and his B.A. from California State University, Sacramento.

With offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and London, Buckley LLP offers premier enforcement, litigation, compliance, regulatory, and transactional services to financial services institutions and early stage and leading fintech and technology companies, as well as venture capital and private equity funds, investment companies, and corporate and individual clients throughout the world. "The best at what they do in the country." (Chambers USA)​