With more than 20 years of legal experience, James A. Wells brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Gay & Chacker. His courtroom experience and ability to apply complex scientific and legal issues to cases have allowed him to obtain substantial compensation for his clients.

James primarily represents people whose catastrophic personal injuries have impacted their quality of life and ability to provide for their families. He has vast experience in litigation involving medical negligence, workplace accidents, automobile accidents, unsafe premises, and civil rights violations. Mr. Wells has also obtained significant monetary recoveries for clients who lost their day in court due to another attorney’s mistake.

Education and Background

James graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1991, and he obtained his Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1994. During law school, he served as an Articles Editor for the Law Review and graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif. James is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Leadership

James is an active member of many national, state and local bar associations. On the national level, Mr. Wells has held several leadership positions with the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS). In 2014, he was elected to serve on the TIPS Council, the governing body of the Section. His prior positions in TIPS include Chair of the Medicine and Law Committee, Chair of the Plaintiff’s Policy Task Force, and The Brief Editorial Board.  He currently serves on the TIPS Special Standing Committee on Ethics and Professionalism.

On the state level, Mr. Wells served on the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Board of Governors from 2003 to 2006 and has been a member of the PBA House of Delegates since 2001. His other PBA experience includes service as Chair of the Young Lawyers Division from 2004 to 2005. In 2018, James received a presidential appointment to serve on the Professional Liability Committee.

Mr. Wells was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Board of Directors from 2009 to 2014. He is active in the Philadelphia Bar Association and has been a member of the State Civil Litigation Section since 2007.

Over more than a decade, Mr. Wells’ peers have continually recognized him as one of the top lawyers in his field. He was named to Pennsylvania Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list from 2005 to 2008 and then to Super Lawyers in 2013. Pennsylvania Law Weekly recognized him as a Lawyer on the Fast Track in 2008.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Author, Negotiating Medicare Subrogation Claims, American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Medicine and Law Committee Newsletter, Winter 2015.
  • Consulted and quoted, Trip Gabriel, Hospital Agrees to Pay $190 Million Over Recording of Pelvic Exams, N.Y. Times, July 21, 2014.
  • Author, Passarello v. Grumbine, The Death Knell of Error in Judgment Instructions in Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Cases, American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Medicine and Law Committee Newsletter, Spring 2014.
  • Author, Legal Challenges to Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements on Grounds of Unconscionability, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Fall 2013, Vol. 49, No. 1.
  • Author, Ethics of Pre-Suit Investigation, American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Business Litigation Committee Newsletter, Fall 2011.
  • Author/Presenter, Important Tips for Pre-Suit Investigations, Hot TIPS audio CD, American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.
  • Moderator/Presenter, Hot Topics in Civil Litigation, Pennsylvania Bar Association Midyear Meeting, January 2010.
  • Author, E-Discovery of RAM Data: Even Temporary Computer Data is Discoverable, ABA Section of Litigation, Technology for the Litigator, August 2007.
  • Author, Preserve Clients’ Automobile Defect Claims, The Young Lawyer, Vol. 11, No. 1, October 2006.
  • Panelist, Effective Appellate Arguments, Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Annual Meeting, August, 2005.