ATTORNEY PROFILES

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JAMES STRAWINSKI

James S. “Jim” Strawinski started the law firm of Strawinski & Stout, P.C. as a litigation firm servicing the insurance industry, the transportation industry and retailers. He concentrates his practice on representing aviation clients, trucking clients and retailers in the defense of wrongful death and serious personal injury claims and insurance related matters. Mr. Strawinski graduated from Duke University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in English. Following college, he served in the United States Air Force and the United States Air Force Reserve until 1985. His service included flying combat missions in Vietnam. He achieved the rank of Major and became a command pilot before leaving Air Force duty. Mr. Strawinski obtained an M.B.A. degree in 1975 from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and obtained his J.D. degree from Emory University in 1979. Since 1979, he has practiced in various areas of aviation law, including the defense of airlines, airports, aircraft product manufacturers, fixed base operations, and crop dusters. His practice includes the handling of certificate actions and civil penalty actions by the FAA against airmen. He regularly handles trucking cases involving liability issues and cargo issues, as well as premises liability cases for various retailers.

Mr. Strawinski is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, the Aviation Insurance Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He was Chairman of the Aviation Section of the State Bar of Georgia in 1987 and 1994. He is currently an IFR rated civilian pilot and serves as an adjunct faculty member on the Emory University School of Law Trial Advocacy Program. In 1994, he presented a paper entitled Crash Scene Investigations at the Aviation Law Symposium conducted jointly by the State Bar of Georgia, Aviation Law Section, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. Other publications include Pre-Impact Pain and Suffering published in the Georgia State Bar Journal, Volume 26, No. 2, November 1989 and the aviation chapter contained in Georgia Jurisprudence, Personal Injury and Torts 29, Aviation Accidents. He has been a keynote speaker at several industry related events, including a presentation entitled: Use of Surveillance Techniques in Discovery Practice presented at the 19th Annual Insurance Law Institute, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, September 2000. The same presentation was also given to the Atlanta Claims Association at its Workers Compensation Seminar in February 2003. He presented a paper entitled Where is the ACAA Today? which traced the law developing from the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, at the 36th Annual Air Law Symposium presented by the Southern Methodist School of Law, in Dallas, Texas in February 2002. In February 2003 he presented a paper entitled: Considerations When Litigating With the FAA at the 2003 Aviation Law Symposium conducted jointly by the State Bar of Georgia, Aviation Law Section, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia.  Mr. Strawinski served as a Judge at the 2009 William W. Daniel National Invitational Mock Trial Competition. In May 2012 he made a presentation at the Retail and Hospitality Litigation and Claims Management Seminar in Chicago under the auspices of the Defense Research Institute.  The presentation was titled “Spoliation of In-Store Surveillance Video.” In September 2015 he presented the defense lawyer’s perspective in a State-wide seminar sponsored by the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (GDLA) entitled “Mediation 360” designed to educate the audience on the best practices at mediation for all parties concerned.

In April 2016, Mr. Strawinski presented the professionalism topic Practicing Law is a Privilege at the 2016 Aviation Law Symposium conducted jointly by the State Bar of Georgia, Aviation Law Section, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. In May 2018, he addressed the Attorneys’ Division of the Aviation Insurance Association, giving an hour-long presentation entitled “FAA: Friend or Foe” discussing the numerous special considerations involved when the federal government is a party to civil tort litigation in the aviation context.

 

Areas of Practice

  • Aviation
  • Insurance
  • Premises Liability
  • Products Liability
  • Motor Carrier Liability

 

Litigation Percentage

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

 

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia, 1979
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, 1979
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1979
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia, 2015
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1980
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1982
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1991

 

Education

  • Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia. J.D. – 1979
  • Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. M.B.A – 1975
  • Duke University, B.A. – 1971
    Honors: Varsity Tennis Team, All Four Years of College
    Captain, 1970-1971

 

Published Works

  • Where is the ACAA Today? Tracing the Law Developing from the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Vol.68, No. 2, Spring, 2003
  • Pre-Impact Pain and Suffering, Georgia Bar Journal, Volume 26, No. 2, November, 1989
  • Georgia Jurisprudence: Personal Injury and Torts, Chapter 29, Aviation Accidents
  • Crash Scene Investigations, State Bar of Georgia / Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 1994

 

Classes/Seminars

  • Use of Surveillance Techniques in Discovery Practice, 19th Annual Insurance Law Institute, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2000
  • Use of Surveillance Techniques in Discovery Practice, Atlanta Claims Association, 2003
  • Where is the ACAA Today?, Southern Methodist School of Law, 2002
  • Considerations When Litigating With the FAA, State Bar of Georgia, Institute of Continuing Legal Education In Georgia, 2003
  • Practicing Law is a Privilege, State Bar of Georgia, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 2016
  • FAA: Friend or Foe, Attorneys’ Division, Aviation Insurance Association Annual Meeting, 2018

 

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association
  • State Bar of Georgia, Chairman of Aviation Section 1987 & 1994
  • Atlanta Bar Association
  • Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association
  • Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • Emory University Trial Advocacy Program, Adjunct Faculty Member
  • IFR, Civilian Pilot
  • The Aviation Insurance Association

 

Past Employment Positions

  • United States Air Force, Pilot/Major
  • United States Air Force Reserve, Command Pilot