James J. Stamos is a 1980 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law. Upon graduation, Mr. Stamos joined the Chicago firm of Rooks, Pitts & Poust (now Dykema) where he worked primarily in medical malpractice defense and construction litigation and coverage issues. He co-authored the 2005 revision to the chapter on Malpractice Trial Considerations in the West treatise on The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois and each annual revision to date. He co-authored the chapter on insurance coverage in the 1984 Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) Construction Litigation Handbook and its revisions. He authored the chapter of rescission for the 1994 IICLE Real Estate Litigation Handbook and the 201 and 2004 revisions and co-authored the chapter on Emergency Medicine in the 1996 IICLE Medical Malpractice Handbook and its 1998 revision.
Mr. Stamos joined Coffield Ungaretti Harris & Slavin (now Nixon Peabody) in 1984 and became an equity partner in 1987. At Coffield Ungaretti, he practiced commercial litigation, representing both defendants and plaintiffs in cases involving employment, securities, commodities and options, real estate and partnership disputes, financial litigation and medical malpractice defense. In 1990 he formed Stamos & Trucco LLP with Michael T. Trucco, also a former partner at Coffield Ungaretti. He has tried over 75 jury trials as well as many bench trials and arbitrations. He has also handled many matters in the state and federal courts of appeal and has argued successfully before the Indiana Supreme Court. Mr. Stamos is a member of the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Trial Lawyers. He is a former member of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee and is an arbitrator for FINRA. His current practice is primarily in commercial, financial and employment litigation and professional liability defense as well as the defense of insurance bad faith claims. Mr. Stamos is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been elected an Illinois “Super Lawyer” in every year since the inception of the award in 2005. He also received the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s 2023 Trial Lawyer Excellence Award for Defense Achievement.
