Michael St. James

Michael St. James is the principal of St. James Law, P.C. in San Francisco, where he represents creditors and landlords in all bankruptcy and insolvency contexts. He also works with debtors directly and has led out-of-court workouts and chapter 11 proceedings. Mr. St. James has more than 30 years of experience in bankruptcy and business insolvency law. He specializes in representing creditors, landlords and acquirers of troubled businesses. Prior to founding St. James Law in 2000, Mr. St. James clerked for Hon. Lloyd King, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of California., from 1980-82. He then worked with Phelan, Stuppi, Sorenson & McQuaid from 1982–84, Dinkelspiel & Dinkelspiel from 1984–88, and Rosenblum, Parish & Isaacs from 1988–2000. Mr. St. James is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and has been certified as a Legal Specialist in Bankruptcy by the State Bar of California since 2006. He has been listed in Super Lawyers since 2006 and in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007. Mr. St. James is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, has published numerous articles related to business bankruptcy and insolvency, and is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy issues. He is a member of various bar associations, including the American Bar Association's Corporate, Banking and Business Law Section, Business Bankruptcy Committee and Chapter 11 Subcommittee; ABI; the California State Bar's Business Law Section and Insolvency Law Committee; the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum; and the Bar Association of San Francisco's Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section. Mr. St. James received his B.A. in 1977 in humanities from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., and his J.D. in 1980 from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law.