About James D.
James D. Tawney built his legal foundation in the Southwest. He earned a B.A. in Justice Policy and Planning from Northern Arizona University in 2005 and completed his J.D. at Texas Tech University School of Law in 2010. Those years shaped his interest in courtroom work and in the intersecting practice of state and federal litigation.
He began his career in 2010 as an associate at Scherr Legate PLLC. There he worked on civil matters and developed practical courtroom experience early in his career. In 2016 he joined Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro, P.C. as a partner. His role there expanded his responsibilities in case strategy, client counseling and trial preparation.
Tawney is admitted to practice in Texas and New Mexico, and he appears in several federal courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, and the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Those admissions allow him to handle matters that cross state lines and to move cases through both trial and appellate stages when necessary.
His professional memberships track his courtroom orientation. He holds membership in the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, where he serves on the board. He is also a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the El Paso County Trial Lawyer Association, the El Paso Bar Association and the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association. On the national level, he belongs to the American Association for Justice. These affiliations place him in regular contact with peers who practice trial and civil litigation.
Colleagues describe Tawney as steady in the courtroom and attentive at deposition. He has handled matters that require coordination across jurisdictions and frequent appearances in state and federal venues. He prepares for trial work and also handles pretrial motion practice and discovery disputes. He combines courtroom time with client meetings and the document-intensive work that complex litigation demands.
Tawney’s office affiliations now include Flores, Tawney & Acosta P.C., where he practices alongside other litigators. He maintains ties to legal groups in both Texas and New Mexico and continues to accept cases that require federal and state filings. He currently practices at Flores, Tawney & Acosta P.C., where he handles civil litigation in state and federal courts in Texas and New Mexico.
