About James Wesley
James Wesley Kinnear built a legal foundation at Harvard. He graduated from Harvard College in 1978 with a B.A. awarded with high honors. He returned to Cambridge for law school and earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986, graduating with honors.
Kinnear's career spans both state and federal practice. Over the years he has been admitted to multiple state bars and numerous federal courts. His admissions include Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Michigan and California, and extend to the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also admitted in several federal trial courts and courts of appeals, among them the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of California, and the Eastern District of Texas. On the appellate side he appears in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and he maintains admission to the Northern District of Ohio.
Those admissions reflect a practice that moves between trial dockets and appellate calendars. Kinnear litigates in federal district courts and handles appeals when cases move upward. He has worked on matters that require courtroom appearances in multiple jurisdictions and filings in appellate courts across the country. He has built procedural familiarity with complex federal rules and state court practice in several states.
Kinnear operates under the banner of Kinnear Law Office PC. The firm serves clients whose matters may cross state lines or require federal court handling. He has experience preparing memoranda, briefs and court filings in both trial and appellate settings. He also manages case strategy where jurisdictional questions or multi-district issues arise.
Colleagues and opposing counsel note his steady approach in court and his preference for clear written work. He tends to present arguments in concise, direct language and to address procedural intricacies early. Outside the courtroom he has remained engaged in developing legal arguments and supervising litigation teams when cases demand coordinated effort across jurisdictions.
As of 2026 James Wesley Kinnear practices from Kinnear Law Office PC and represents clients in lawsuits and appeals in state and federal courts.
