About James Raymond
James Raymond Mugridge earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Law from the University of California, San Diego in 2010. He went on to complete his Juris Doctor at San Joaquin College of Law in 2013. Those academic years shaped his interest in courtroom procedure and the mechanics of appellate review.
He began his legal work as a clerk at the Law Offices of David R Mugridge in 2010. After law school he served as a law clerk to a judge on the United States District Court in 2013. Those early roles placed him close to litigation practice and the drafting that underpins appellate work.
In 2018 he took a position as a trial lawyer with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. At the EEOC he handled hearings and investigations involving federal employment statutes. The post gave him hands-on trial experience and a deeper familiarity with employment disputes and administrative processes.
Two years later he joined the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District as a senior lawyer. In that capacity he has worked on appellate briefs and internal memoranda. The role requires parsing trial records, identifying legal error, and advising judges on the procedural and substantive issues that courts of review confront.
Alongside his court responsibilities, he returned to San Joaquin College of Law as an adjunct professor. In that classroom he teaches subjects that mirror his professional work. Students see the practical side of appellate practice and trial procedure through his courses.
His career path ties trial experience to appellate practice. He has moved from clerkships to federal administrative trial work and then into appellate counseling. The shift reflected a growing emphasis on post-trial scrutiny and legal analysis rather than fact development alone.
Mugridge is licensed to practice in California and has spent much of his career in public service roles at federal and state institutions. He balances court duties with teaching obligations and remains engaged with the procedural law that governs appeals. He currently serves at the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District and teaches at San Joaquin College of Law; his practice focuses on appellate work and employment law matters.
