Attorney News and Updates

Thomas James , Cokato Minnesota attorney at the Law Office of Tom James, is a recipient of the 2025 Ned Holstein Shared Parenting Research Award sponsored by the National Parents Organization . The award is given to people who have conducted groundbreaking research on shared parenting. The organization recognized Mr. James for his meticulously researched law review article, C hild Custody Presumptions : From Fault and Gender to Equal Time , which is published in the Georgia State University Law Review, vol. 42 (2026).  From the article abstract: For most of history, judges have applied fault- and sex-based presumptions to decide the kinds of custody arrangements that are in children’s best interests. Now that those have been eliminated, courts have no clear guidance for deciding the custody of children other than a vague directive to do what is “best.” Legislatures have enacted nonexclusive lists of suggested factors to consider, but these statutes are frequently as vaguely worded ...

Thomas James, Cokato, Minnesota attorney at the Law Office of Tom James, has published an article in the Georgia State University Law Review (vol. 42, Spring 2026). Titled  Child Custody Presumptions: From Fault and Gender to Equal Time , it traces the history of child custody presumptions from ancient times to the present. The article includes information and analysis of "equal shared parenting" (ESP) statutes and law reform proposals, such as the laws recently enacted in Kentucky, Missouri and Florida.  According to Justia , attorney Thomas B James (Thomas James attorney at law) is a private practice attorney with over 25 years experience at the Law Office of Tom James in Cokato, Minnesota. He focuses on copyright and trademark law. Thomas James is licensed to practice in Minnesota state and federal courts, the 8th and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal; and the United States Supreme Court. He is authorized to represent client nationwide in U.S. trademark and copyright regis...

 If you are interested in the academic work (research articles and scholarship) of Minnesota attorney Thomas James, you should visit his  Research Gate and Social Sciences Research Network ( SSRN ) pages.

  Thomas Jameses "While opening a checking account, a bank employee asked if I wanted plain, crimson, or clover colored paper for the checks. When I put in a request for a table at a restaurant, hosts asked if the Shondells would be joining us.  It could have been worse.   David Bowie ’s birth name was David Jones. Imagine the heckling he must have received in school.  “'Hey Davy, where are your   Monkees ?'” Our names are not unique. This feature of our existence can have humorous consequences. For some, it can also have tragic consequences. In The Ubiquitous Thomas James, published on Medium.com , Cokato, Minnesota attorney Thomas James recounts his experiences as a Tom, Tommy and Thomas James, and shares stories about other notable people with the same name.

 The first Echion CLE course, "Elimination of Bias: Helping Victims of Childhood Sex Crimes" is available to watch for free on YouTube. Sorry, no CLE course credit for watching. The link is:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvGJzVlg_LNNuTHY44YaFk9TXcCObYlB9

 The first judicial ruling of fair use in the bevy of AI copyright infringements pending in the courts has been issued. The case is Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence.