Professor James taught debate, public speaking, and critical thinking after receiving her Master’s in Rhetoric and Public Address from the University of Pittsburgh. She then attended law school at the University of Iowa, where she was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Corporation Law. Since her graduation from Iowa, Professor James has worked as a prosecutor, an appellate attorney for the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and a law clerk for two judges on the Virginia Court of Appeals.
For almost two decades, Professor James has worked as a private practice attorney in Harrisonburg, Virginia, representing primarily criminal defendants, parties and children in family law cases, and appellate parties.
