About James Patrick
James Patrick Horan earned his law degree at Western New England University School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1984. He completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross, where he studied pre-law and political science and earned a B.A. in 1981. Those two institutions set the course for a legal career centered in Massachusetts.
He began practicing soon after law school. In 1984 he joined Gould & Ettenberg, P.C. as a lawyer and later served in a director role. The record shows decades of practice in Massachusetts courts and in private practice settings. Over that time he handled a range of legal work typical for a private practitioner, drawing on courtroom experience and case management skills developed early in his career.
During his years in private practice Horan became familiar with alternatives to litigation. He increasingly used negotiation and settlement tools to resolve disputes for clients. That practical turn toward dispute resolution fed into a later shift in his professional life. Rather than a sudden change, it was the culmination of years of work resolving complex matters outside the trial calendar.
In 2023 he took on a formal role as a neutral. He joined Central Mass Meditation & Arbitration Services, LLC as a mediator, arbitrator and neutral case evaluator. In that capacity he serves disputing parties who seek an impartial third party to help narrow issues, assess liability and evaluate damages. The neutral role draws on his decades-long practice background and his grasp of Massachusetts procedural and substantive law.
Horan is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. His career path reflects a common arc for experienced litigators who move toward dispute resolution later in their careers. He continues to base his work in central Massachusetts, dividing time between case evaluation, mediated settlement sessions and arbitrations. He accepts assignments as a neutral and hears matters referred by counsel and courts.
He remains active in the local legal community through his neutral practice and occasional engagements that draw on his prior experience as a lawyer and director. He now focuses his practice on mediation, arbitration and neutral case evaluation in Massachusetts.
