About James
James Spokes built his legal foundation at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, earning his J.D. in 2011 after beginning his studies in 2008. He studied the practical side of litigation and statutory analysis during law school, and that training shaped the early path of his career. He is admitted to practice in Louisiana.
He has aligned himself with several professional organizations that reflect the work he does. He holds memberships in the Baton Rouge Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is also a member of the Baton Rouge Bar for Criminal Justice, the Louisiana Association for Justice, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Those affiliations signal the areas of law he spends most of his time on. He has built a practice that brings together criminal defense and immigration law, two fields that often intersect for the people he represents. His criminal work spans local criminal matters in state courts. His immigration work involves immigration proceedings and related administrative matters.
Spokes maintains a presence with the Scott Law Office and has an office in New Orleans. He divides his time between these locations in order to be available where cases arise. He represents individuals at arraignments, pretrial proceedings, and hearings, and he also handles matters that begin in administrative settings. He frequently appears in court and before governmental agencies when cases require that level of attention.
Colleagues describe him as practical in the courtroom and methodical in preparing cases, favoring clear legal argument and factual organization. He relies on procedural knowledge and case law to frame defenses and to contest government positions in immigration hearings. He spends time reviewing records, interviewing witnesses, and preparing motions that address both the facts and the applicable law.
Outside of casework he keeps current through the associations that connect him to other defense attorneys and immigration practitioners across Louisiana and nationally. Those affiliations provide access to continuing legal education and peer discussion on evolving criminal and immigration issues. He also uses those networks to consult on cross-jurisdictional questions that touch both criminal and immigration consequences.
He represents clients in criminal defense and immigration matters as part of his current practice.
