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Attorney James A. Pixton, a resident of Alameda for very long time, personally handles all the bankruptcy cases that come through our office. His experience in the bankruptcy world goes way beyond the time he’s lived in Alameda. In fact, his bankruptcy experience goes way beyond his time in California.
Check out this short video in which James shares what he like most about his job.
During his legal education at Boston College Law School, James got his feet wet as a law clerk for a small bankruptcy boutique in downtown Boston. He was on the bankruptcy moot court team, which meant he liked to argue and he liked bankruptcy. When he graduated from law school in 1996, he made a mad dash for California and has been here ever since.
James’ first job out of law school was working as a law clerk for a federal bankruptcy judge here in California. While working with the judge, he handled thousands of matters, did more research and wrote more legal papers than any single budding lawyer should be subjected to–and he loved every second of it. Bankruptcy was his world. He took notes, he learned from the judge, he watched the lawyers in the courtroom, and he told himself, “That’s definitely what I want to do.”
When he finished his clerkship, James had a job waiting for him in downtown San Francisco at one of those stuffy law firms thirty floors up where every lawyer had eight syllables in his name, followed by Jr. or III or even IV. James represented big bank creditors in big bankruptcy cases. Again he watched and learned from the other attorneys as well as the judges.
Something was missing from James’s lawyering, however, and that missing thing was spending time with clients. Those big banks and the folks who worked for them were nice and all, but James wanted to sit across the desk from regular folks–like the people here in Alameda–and help them solve their problems. He wanted to fight and make a difference for the little guys. He wanted to help people start over.
All that watching and learning gave Alameda bankruptcy lawyer James Pixton an edge. He had seen bankruptcy cases and litigation from the court’s perspective. He saw people lose their homes and he formulated ways to keep that from happening to his clients. He had seen the crushing hand of the banks in bankruptcy case–how inflexible they were. He committed that he would do everything he could to protect his bankruptcy clients from the banks and help them get a fresh start.
In early 1998, Pixton Bankruptcy Law was born in a little office building in downtown Oakland, California, and ever since Alameda’s most aggressive bankruptcy lawyer James A. PIxton has been helping Alameda residents as well as folks from all over Alameda county (Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Emeryville, Piedmont, Hayward, Casto Valley, Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin). Name a city in Alameda county and odds are James has filed a bankruptcy case for someone there.
Alameda’s friendliest bankruptcy attorney, James A. Pixton has handled thousands of bankruptcy matters in his career. He aggressively protects his clients from overbearing banks, collection companies and mortgage lenders. He does not hesitate to go after the worst offenders. In 2011, for example, James filed a motion for sanctions against a bank that refused to leave his clients alone even after they filed for bankruptcy. He eventually obtained a settlement for substantial sum because the bank didn’t want to go to trial and end up with a huge problem when the judge smacked it with punitive damages. We can’t guarantee results, but we are certain that James is up to the task of protecting his clients.
James has conducted several trials both in federal court and in state court. Ask him sometime about representing Berkeley’s famous “blue guy” in a criminal trial and obtaining a mistrial because the jury couldn’t arrive at a unanimous decision of guilty or innocent. Not too long ago, he successfully litigated and obtained a $1.1 million judgment for one of his clients. Again, no guarantees for future cases, but it sure was fun seeing the judge’s signature on the judgment and then calling the client to tell him about it.
The most important part of James Pixton’s bankruptcy practice here in Alameda is the time he spends with his clients. He enjoys meeting new people. He loves coming up with a plan tailored to fix the financial woes of each client or client couple. He makes sure to always have a tissue box ready because sometimes the clients get emotional about a job loss, or a life threatening illness or a divorce. And that’s OK–James is here to help. And he has the experience to get the job done right.
When he’s not meeting with bankruptcy clients in his Alameda office or appearing on their behalf in the Oakland bankruptcy court, James can most likely be found riding his road bicycle on training rides up in the Oakland Hills. In a typical year he might do between 8 and 10 century rides. For all you non-bike nut folks out there, a century is a one hundred mile bike ride–all in one day–just because it’s fun. If he’s not on his bike, he probably playing water polo with his kids. Pixton Bankruptcy Law and Alameda bankruptcy attorney James A. Pixton at supporters of Encinal High School Water Polo. James believes the world would be a better place if everyone would ride more bikes and play more water polo. He also believes that the bankruptcy system makes the world a much better place.
Give us a call at (510) 451-6200 to schedule a no-cost, half-hour meeting with Alameda bankruptcy lawyer James A. Pixton. He’ll meet with you personally and help you decide if bankruptcy is the right way for you to go.
You can also send him an email at james@pixlaw.com. He’ll get right back to you.
