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James Trotter

“We Stand Up For You®, so you can Stand Up for those you love."

- Christopher H. Roberts

Bio

James Trotter is an attorney with the law firm of CR Legal Team, LLP. Having previously worked as a plaintiff’s attorney in California with a focus on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases, including truck and auto collisions, product defects, dangerous conditions of public roadway and premises liability, he joined CR Legal Team in June of 2024.

After his graduation from the Loyola Law School Class in May 2018, James was admitted to the California Bar in 2018, the Nevada Bar in 2019, and the North Carolina Bar in 2024. He has lectured at the Loyola Law School, Pepperdine University Law School, and the Association of Business Trial (ABTL) and Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi (PSBR) Live legal conferences. James was published in the January 2023 edition of The Advocate for his article “Winning or Losing Your Case in Minute: Cause Challenges.”

At his previous law firm, James was part of the trial team for several large verdicts in California, including a $23,720,996 bench trial verdict to a Southern California man and his wife after the man suffered a lower leg amputation as a result of being struck by a 28-foot utility truck while riding his motorcycle in Los Angeles County in January 2021, and a $2,400,000 jury trial verdict to a Northern California minor after his father was killed by an inattentive driver in Stanislaus County in December 2021.

James received his Bachelor of History in the Program of Liberal Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2012. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, crosswords, going to the beach, and listening to Neil Young, with his wife and daughter.

Education

  • University of Notre Dame, Bachelors in History and Program of Liberal Studies
  • Loyola Law School, Juris Doctorate

Bar Admissions
And Memberships

  • California – 2018
  • Middle District of California – 2019
  • Nevada – 2019
  • North Carolina – 2024
  • Middle District of North Carolina – 2024
  • Western District of North Carolina – 2025
  • South Carolina – 2025

Awards & Honors

  • Southern California Super Lawyers: Rising Stars 2021-2023
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2023

Publications

  • Winning or Losing Your Case in Minutes: Cause Challenges, The Advocate, January 2023

Education

Bar Admissions
and Memberships

  • California – 2018
  • Nevada – 2019
  • North Carolina – 2024
  • Southern California Super Lawyers: Rising Stars 2021-2023
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2023
  • Winning or Losing Your Case in Minutes: Cause Challenges, The Advocate, January 2023

The Personal Injury Lawyers

Who'd Rather You Never Need Them

Kimberly and I met in 1992 as kindred spirits, both drawn to the idea of building something larger than ourselves—an extension of our family committed to serving others. We married in 1994, while I was practicing law, and Kimberly worked in healthcare consulting. We thought we understood how the legal system worked. Then September 19, 1995 changed everything.

It’s the worst possible situation to be in after a serious injury. I’m sitting across from a guy who’s supposed to be one of the better traumatic brain injury lawyers, but I’m realizing he doesn’t understand what Kimberly and I are going through!

I got hit by a tractor-trailer just two months before. My wife Kimberly—nineteen weeks pregnant with our first child—has had to watch me deal with personality changes, possible lifelong symptoms, and terrifying fears of our family's future.

What makes it all worse is the fact that I am a lawyer with years of experience, and yet even I can’t get the kind of representation we desperately need. It’s a scary situation.

I grew up in Charlotte. My mother was a teacher, my father a manager working with blue-collar contractors. My parents instilled in me a simple principle: stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. Becoming an Eagle Scout reinforced it.

Kimberly grew up in Rockingham, a small North Carolina community. Her parents, a nurse and a salesman, also instilled the importance of community service. Sunday mornings singing in youth prison ministry, working with rehabilitation centers, partnering with local organizations – all part of Kimberly’s youth and what shaped her heart.

My brain injury accident showed us that even being on the inside of the legal profession didn’t protect us from getting poor representation. Our lawyer didn’t really serve us well because he couldn’t put himself in our shoes.

After my personal injury, I knew exactly what kind of lawyer I wanted to be:

someone who truly understands what clients are going through because I've been there myself. Kimberly joined me, bringing her healthcare background and passion for wellness. We built our practice around a simple idea—we don't just handle your case, we understand your whole journey, and we prepare you for it.

Today we’ve been in business for 35 years and we’ve recovered billions of dollars for our clients, but more importantly, we’ve advanced our services to what we call “whole person legal care.” We don’t just fight for financial recovery—we address the physical, emotional, and mental needs that make up a whole person. We prepare people before accidents happen through safety education. We stand beside them during their recovery. And we help them figure out where to go when their time with us is done.

What drives us is knowing that if you know better, you have to do better. Through our Roberts Center, we give away thousands of bicycle helmets, teach CPR, provide scholarships, and run safety programs in schools because we’d rather prevent accidents happening to your family than litigate them.