James R. Oswald

Shareholder, Providence, RI

Overview

Jim solves problems for people in crisis, representing entities and individuals in complex litigation in Rhode Island and other New England jurisdictions.

He brings to his practice – in commercial litigation, asbestos defense, and toxic tort defense – over 30 years of high-profile trial and appellate experience.  Jim also is a member of the firm’s Appellate Group.

Tenacious in finding creative solutions to his clients’ most difficult problems, Jim has decades of experience defending national companies in hundreds of asbestos-related injury cases in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine. He also serves as National Coordinating Counsel for a large multi-national company, actively managing thousands of asbestos-related cases in a dozen jurisdictions. 

Jim is fluent in French.

 

Education

  • New York University (J.D., 1991)
  • University of Michigan (B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, 1983)
  • Universite d’Aix-Marseille (France) (1981-82)

Admissions

  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • Maine
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Honors
  • Best Lawyers’ 2022 Lawyer of the Year, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Providence.
  • Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of Mass Tort / Class Actions – Defendants, 2015 -2025.
  • Best Lawyers’ 2015 Lawyer of the Year, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Providence. Jim was one of 14 lawyers in New England who won “Lawyer of the Year” the very first year selected to Best Lawyers in America®.
  • New York University School of Law Moot Court Board winner of a prestigious national moot court competition.
  • Selected as a Rhode Island Super Lawyer, 2008-2019.
LOTY 2022
Super Lawyers
Best Lawyers 2025
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