About Edward James
Edward James Barton combines training in finance, accounting and law. He began his academic journey at the University of Notre Dame, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and accounting in 1993. He continued to Syracuse University for an MBA in operations management, completed in 1999. Barton later turned to law, receiving a Juris Doctor from Northwestern California University in 2010. He also pursued graduate study in education, taking an M.Ed. from Western Governors University in 2018 and an Ed.D. from Marshall University in 2021.
Barton’s professional credentials reflect both legal and financial disciplines. He holds Certified Public Accountant licenses issued by the Washington State Board of Accountancy and the Florida Board of Accountancy. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst through the CFA Institute. Those certifications sit alongside longstanding memberships in professional groups, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Bankruptcy Institute. The combination of accounting licensure and the CFA designation informs how he approaches complex financial disputes.
In the law, Barton is admitted to practice in multiple forums. He is licensed in Washington and California. He is also admitted to appear in the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court. Those admissions allow him to handle matters that move from trial-level tax proceedings to federal appellate work. His practice intersects courtroom advocacy and technical financial analysis.
Colleagues describe him as someone who moves between two worlds: numbers and litigation. He handles bankruptcy matters and tax-related litigation, and he represents clients in disputes that raise financial and accounting issues. He has experience preparing cases for hearings in bankruptcy courts and representing taxpayers in Tax Court proceedings. On the appellate side, he has been involved in matters that required filing briefs and records in federal appellate courts.
Barton works out of Centerbridge Law Group PLLC. His work draws on a mix of accounting qualifications, a CFA credential and a law degree. He applies that background to represent clients in bankruptcy, tax and financial disputes, and to prepare appeals when cases escalate to higher courts.
He currently concentrates his practice on bankruptcy, tax litigation and financial disputes at Centerbridge Law Group PLLC.
