James D. Holzhauer has been Chairman of Mayer Brown since June 2007. He chairs the firm's Policy & Planning Committee, which he joined in 1998. Jim also served as Mayer Brown's General Counsel from 1992 to 2007. Jim retains principal responsibility for risk management. His active role in firm governance includes membership in the Pro Bono Committee and the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.
Jim's legal work focuses on appellate matters and he is well known for his practice before the US Supreme Court. He counsels clients on labor and employment matters, and represents them in both employee benefits and general employment litigation. He also counsels lawyers and law firms on professional liability, risk management and governance matters.
Jim joined Mayer Brown in 1988 from the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School (1985-1988), where he continued to teach through 2006. He was also Visiting North American Lecturer at the University of Warwick Law School in England. Following law school graduation, he was Law Clerk to The Honorable Robert A. Ainsworth Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, after which he was Law Clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Supreme Court of the United States, 1981-1982.
