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Providence RI 02903-1345
TEL: 401.274.7200
FAX: 401.751.0604
Practice Areas
Education
- New York University (J.D., 1991)
- Universite d'Aix-Marseille (France)
- University of Michigan (B.A., 1983)
Bar & Court Admissions
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- New York
- Maine
- District of Columbia
- U.S. District Courts District of Rhode Island
- U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- James R. Oswald
Shareholder, Providence - Email
vCard - Full Bio
James Oswald solves problems for people in crisis, representing entities and individuals in complex litigation across Rhode Island and throughout New England. For example, in January 2008 the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed his successful defense of a client's receipt of stock and real estate against a challenge by a disgruntled donor. And he recently secured a half-million dollar judgment on behalf of two minority shareholders in a family-owned business, whose ownership interest had been wrongfully diluted.
He brings to his practice—in broad commercial litigation, asbestos defense, toxic tort defense and close corporation/minority shareholder disputes—years of high-profile trial and appellate experience, including his successful defense of Time Magazine in a $400 million defamation action in New York federal court when serving as a litigation associate in the New York City office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
Tenacious in finding creative solutions to his clients’ most difficult problems, Jim currently is defending a number of national companies in hundreds of asbestos-related injury cases in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Significant Matters
- He successfully defended two individuals in an action alleging misrepresentation, duress, undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty in Rhode Island Superior Court. The plaintiff claimed that gifts she had made to the defendants were invalid. However, following a trial the court held in the defendants’ favor. On appeal the Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s determination.
- Jim and an AP&S team are defending a leading home builder and developer of a large Bristol, Rhode Island condominium development, where abutting condo owners have challenged the builder’s property rights. After protracted and highly contentious litigation—which included several attempts to halt construction—AP&S crafted a creative resolution among the many parties to the dispute: the creation of a single, over-arching condominium association.
- For shareowners in a closely-held, family-owned Rhode Island corporation, Jim successfully pursued legal action when new management significantly diluted the shares’ value. Following a lengthy trial in Rhode Island federal court, he helped obtain a verdict in his clients’ favor.
- A truck driver, rendered paraplegic while unloading machinery, alleged tens of millions of dollars in damages against Jim’s client—the machinery manufacturer—and the truck owner. Jim was able to negotiate a favorable settlement for his client before trial in a Connecticut federal court—a trial that resulted in $20 million verdict against the other defendant.
Honors & Distinctions
- Phi Beta Kappa, University of Michigan.
- New York University School of Law Moot Court Board member and winner of a prestigious national moot court competition.
- Selected as a Rhode Island Super Lawyer, 2008 - 2011, an honor that recognizes him as a leader in the legal community.
Community & Civic Activity
- Former board member, Bayside YMCA.
News
- 22 AP&S Attorneys Named to New England Super Lawyers 2011
- 30 AP&S Attorneys Named to New England Super Lawyers 2009
- Top Honors for Super Lawyers "Superstars" at AP&S
Publications & Seminars
- Former Adjunct Professor of Law, Roger Williams University School of Law.
