Crumlin, James
Crumlin, James
Member
James Crumlin dedicates his professional career to serving his clients and his community. As a lawyer, he concentrates his practice in the areas of labor and employment law, small business law and mid-size business representation, corporate business litigation and entertainment law. As a community advocate, he dedicates his time to leadership roles for several of Nashville’s civic and charitable causes.
A well-known Nashville employment lawyer, James has represented management on issues arising from the employment relationship, including union and non-union arbitration and all forms of employment discrimination litigation. He conducts in-house training sessions on compliance with the numerous federal and state laws affecting employers — from the Americans with Disabilities Act to the Fair Labor Standards Act to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and everything in between.
Serving as outside general counsel to small and midsize businesses, James also helps clients navigate the corporate legal landscape and avoid costly mistakes. His experience includes business formation and strategy, funding and investor relations, contracts, employment compliance issues, risk management, litigation and dispute resolution. His clients include a variety of Tennessee-based businesses, entrepreneurs and start-up ventures.
In the area of entertainment and media law, James represents artists, songwriters, authors, managers and producers in the production, ownership, marketing and sale of creative works. He also represents television anchors/reporters in contract negotiations with local and national media outlets.
James has written articles and presented seminars and continuing legal education programs on a variety of employment and business law topics for numerous organizations, including the TBA, ABA, Nashville Chamber of Commerce, NAACP, Nashville Business Journal and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. Topics have included “Interviewing and Selecting Employees,” “How to Prove Discrimination in Court,” “Small Business Formation” and “Ethics Reform,” among others.
In addition to his legal work, James is very active in the Nashville community and a passionate non-profit supporter. Among the organizations he’s involved in are Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center and the Kelly Miller Smith Center Against Abuse Behavior. An active member of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, he also serves as a trustee and was instrumental in the Project 2000 committee, which oversaw the construction of the church’s $17 million facility.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky and graduate of duPont Manual High School, James moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University, receiving his B.A. in 1994 and his law degree in 1997.
From 1997-1998, he served as a judicial clerk to United States Chief District Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., (former United States Magistrate Judge) for the Middle District of Tennessee. Prior to joining the firm in 2002, James served as a senior attorney in the litigation section at the Nashville law firm of King & Ballow.
Encouraged by his mother, and following in the footsteps of his father, James says he wanted to be a lawyer for as long as he can remember. What he enjoys most about the profession is “helping employers resolve their employee issues and assisting small businesses in maximizing their potential by focusing on the bottom-line and not legal problems,” he explains.
In his spare time, James is a runner, having completed a marathon and 17 half-marathons for a career total of 248.9 miles. He also is a passionate advocate for the arts, and he actively supports the election of progressive candidates to public office. James also loves to travel. His favorite destinations are the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, Miami, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.
