He took up the violin at an early age and later in life switched to the viola, with its range being more like the one he wishes he could have as a singer. James holds degrees in electrical engineering (University of Maryland) and law (Duke University). Through the years his professional pursuits have included clerking for a federal appellate court judge, working as a patent trial lawyer, managing an office of a Wall Street law firm, and serving as chief judge of the U.S. government’s administrative patent court. James now lives in Minnesota, where he is the chief intellectual property counsel for law and regulatory affairs at Ecolab.