He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of South Carolina before attending law school at Florida Coastal School of Law, where he graduated in the top 1% of his class. James also served as the Senior Articles Editor on the Florida Coastal Law Review, earned the “book award”—given to the student with the highest grade—in five different classes, and was the judge’s pick as Best Advocate in both of the final trials in his Trial Practice course. James worked part-time for O’Hara Law Firm during law school and joined full-time as an associate after graduating.