James Bilsborrow

It takes a uniquely compassionate and caring attorney to understand and be able to properly act upon the needs of victims of environmental disasters, toxic torts and consumer-targeted wrongdoing. James Bilsborrow is just such a lawyer. He has been an associate attorney in our Environmental, Toxic Tort & Consumer Protection group since joining the firm in 2011. Among his more prominent cases, Mr. Bilsborrow participated extensively in the multidistrict litigation brought by us and other firms against BP, the United Kingdom-based petroleum giant responsible for the devastating 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In that action, Mr. Bilsborrow served as the second-chair attorney to our Robin Greenwald, who was a member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee. Mr. Bilsborrow worked closely with the Phase One trial team which ultimately secured a judicial finding that BP acted with gross negligence in causing the oil spill. Mr. Bilsborrow also served on the Medical Benefits Settlement team which negotiated a commitment on the part of BP to provide compensation and preventive treatments to Gulf Coast shoreline residents and to workers involved in the spill cleanup. Additionally, Mr. Bilsborrow was a member of the appeals team that successfully defended the economic portion of the BP settlement all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In another prominent multidistrict litigation, this time against General Motors Corp. and arising from the car maker's use of a dangerously defective ignition-switch system in millions of vehicles, Mr. Bilsborrow represents dozens of individuals injured while operating defective GM vehicles; he also represents class members seeking damages for economic losses as a result of GM's concealment of the defect. Throughout the GM litigation, Mr. Bilsborrow has served as the second-chair attorney to Ms. Greenwald, the plaintiffs' liaison counsel. Mr. Bilsborrow is also active in the firm's data breach litigation initiatives. He is at the forefront of actions against major healthcare organizations Anthem and Premera Blue Cross after hackers broke into those corporations' computer systems and stole customers' sensitive personal and financial records in furtherance of identity theft and other financial fraud crimes. Prior to joining Weitz & Luxenberg, Mr. Bilsborrow worked as a law clerk for Hon. D. Brooks Smith of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Before that, he held clerked for Hon. Christopher C. Conner of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Bilsborrow is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, a privilege he attained in 2009. He is also admitted to practice in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and in the U.S. Court of Appeals' Third and Fifth circuits. In 2008, Mr. Bilsborrow completed the juris doctor program offered by William & Mary School of Law. He distinguished himself there by graduating second in his class and by securing a place in the school's Order of the Coif, which recognizes the academic achievements of the top 10 percent of students. Additionally, the school conferred upon him in the 2007-08 academic year its Best Student Note award for his authorship of "Sentencing Acquitted Conduct to the Post-Booker Dustbin," a work published in the William and Mary Law Review. These honors represent an extension of those he earned while a political science and philosophy major at the University of Chicago (he was on the Dean's List every year between 1999 and 2003). Mr. Bilsborrow at present belongs to several professional organizations, including the American Association for Justice (AAJ) in which he serves as a member of the Legal Affairs Committee, which prepares and reviews the organization's positions on relevant policies. He also is on the Rule 23 Subcommittee of the Class Action Litigation Group, tasked with critiquing and commenting upon proposed changes to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In 2015, the AAJ selected Mr. Bilsborrow as one of only 12 attorneys from around the country to attend the organization's Leadership Academy - a program designed to equip promising young attorneys to become the next generation of top-tier trial lawyers. Mr. Bilsborrow is also active with the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Program as an attorney providing pro bono legal services to low-income residents of Brooklyn. Awards and Honors Super Lawyers® Selectees James Bilsborrow included in a Super Lawyers® list Other Sources of Feedback About James Bilsborrow Included on the 2020New York Metro Super Lawyers list Past Lists 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers list 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers list 2017 New York Metro Super Lawyers list 2016 New York Metro Super Lawyers list 2015 New York Metro Super Lawyers list 2014 New York Metro Super Lawyers list

• Partner and Practice Group Co-Chair

• Hon. D. Brooks Smith of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Law Clerk
• Hon. Christopher C. Conner of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Clerk

• Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Program
• Serving as a Kings County Committee member in Brooklyn since 2016

• New York
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Western District of New York
• New Jersey

• American Bar Association
• New York Bar Association
• New York City Bar Association
• Brooklyn Bar Association
• American Association for Justice, New Lawyers Division
• American Constitution Society
• American Association for Justice, Legal Affairs Committee
• American Association for Justice, Rule 23 Subcommittee of the Class Action Litigation Group
• Third Circuit Bar Association
• New York Trial Lawyer Association
• New York Federal Bar Council