James T. (“Jim”) McMillen is a 1975 honor graduate of the Nashville School of Law. He has practiced in  both Texas and  Tennessee. He is listed in “Best Lawyers in America”. He is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, Dubois, Wyoming. He is an adjunct professor of consumer law and litigation at the University of Houston Law School - Consumer Law Center. He served on the Alumni Board of Directors of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer College from 2004-2008. He currently is an advisor to the Texas Consumer Complaint Center and on staff of the Peoples Law School. He has obtained judgments and settlements for consumer in excess of $90 Million dollars. He holds licenses with the  Supreme Court of Texas and Tennessee. He holds licenses the Supreme Court of the Untied States of America , the Untied States Court of Appeal for the Fifth and Sixth  Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas and the Middle District of Tennessee. He is Board Certified in both Business and Consumer Bankruptcy Law by the Texas  Board of Legal Specialization. He has received numerous honors and awards including Trial Warrior of the Year from the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College and Consumer Hero of the Year from the National Association of Consumer Advocates and was honored by the Tennessee State Legislature for his efforts for better government. Since commencing his practice in 1975 he has concentrated his practice on, consumer law,  bankruptcy law, class action litigation, commercial litigation, civil rights (particularly on issues affecting women), and medical  malpractice. He served for six years as an  administrative law judge on the  Tennessee Medical Malpractice Review Board while maintaining a full time law  practice. Since beginning his practice he has been known to  handled many difficult and controversial issues. During the banking and savings & loan  crises in the 1980's and 1990's, he has handle numerous business bankruptcies  many of  which have involved millions of dollars and large classes of claims. He  has severed as a Chapter 11 Trustee and he frequently represents Trustees in  bankruptcy cases. He represented the Plaintiff in the first jury trial tried in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division. He is  a  nationally known advocate on consumer issues. He has continuously served on the board of directors and as secretary of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy  Attorneys from 1994 through 2002. He is the past Chairman of the Bankruptcy Committee of the State Bar of Texas, an office he held for two years. He has served on Governing Counsels of  both the Consumer Law Section and  the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. He is an active member of  the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He has held  numerous offices and served on committees of both the state and local bars in the states of Texas and  in Tennessee. In 1996, he was a witness on behalf of consumers before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission and been a witness before the Texas State Legislature on issues on behalf of consumers. He has severed on committees to assist in drafting national and state laws and regulations affecting consumers. He has been an Amicus Attorney before both federal and state appellate courts for Public Justice,  the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.

He has authored and spoke on the following: The Changing World of Mortgages, Houston Bar Association(2008), Finding Consumer Claims in Bankruptcy, University of Houston Continuing Legal Education (2007), Finding Consumer Claims in bankruptcy, Houston  Debtor Attorneys Bar Association(2006), Class Action Litigation in Bankruptcy Cases, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, National Association of  Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (2000), Payday Lending Litigation, National Consumer Law Center/National Association of Consumer Advocates (2000), Computer Trial Exhibit  and Computer Document  Management in Complex Litigation, National Consumer Law Center (1999); Computer Trial Exhibits on a Limited  Budget, National Association of  Consumer Advocates (1999); Creditor Abuses - High Interest Payday  Loans, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (1999); Attorney Web Pages, National   Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (1999); Litigation with States after Seminole, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (1998); Purposed  Changes to the Bankruptcy  Law, State Bar of Texas (1998); Creditor Frauds and Scams in the Mortgage and  Auto Industries, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy  Attorneys  (1997); Small Business Chapter 13's, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Association ((1996); Defending against Dischargeability Cases with  Credit  Card Lenders, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy  Association (1996); Ethics -The Use and Misuse of Paralegals, Texas State Bar (1996); Counseling Debtors, Texas  State Bar (1996); Bankruptcy Litigation, National  Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, (1995); Small Business Chapter 13's , National  Association of Chapter 13  Trustees (1995); Bankruptcy Practice - Regional Differences, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (1995); Bankruptcy and the Family Law Case,  Corpus Christi Bar  Association (1995); Ethics, National Association of  Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (1994); What you Always Wanted to Know About Bankruptcy, Corpus Christi Credit  Bureau (1991); Legal Considerations in Regard to Variable  Interest Rate Loans, Small Business Administration of the United States Government National Attorneys Training  (1984); Bankruptcy: The Creditors Challenge, Tennessee Bar Association (1980). He is a "PowerLaw" author  for the Texas Lawyer on bankruptcy and consumer subjects. In the  last year he has been quoted on issues involving consumer law in the following publications:  Business Week (magazine), the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times,  Lawyer's Weekly, Austin  Statesman, Cincinnati Post, Seattle Times, and Chicago Sun-Times.

The following are  notable cases in which he has been involved: In re:  Smithwick; 121 F.3d 211; 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 23646(5^th Cir. 1997) - Applicable interest rate in  consumer bankruptcy cases is contract  rate. Counsel on Amicus Brief for National Association of Consumer  Bankruptcy Attorneys; In re: Mendoza; 111 F.3d 1264; 1997  U.S. App. LEXIS 10709(5^th Cir. 1997) - Established that Debtors can amend Chapter 13 Plans to include post  petition mortgage arrears (Counsel for the Debtor); In re: Carlan, 157 B.R. 324 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 1993) - Set standard of valuation in  Fifth Circuit prior to Rash to between the Wholesale and retail on a case by case basis; In re: Burton Securities; 202 B.R. 411 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 1996) - Effect of Confirmation of Plan  as res adjudicata (Counsel for Trustee), In re: Carlton; 26 B.R. 202 (1982) (Bankr. M.D.  Tenn. 1982) - Established a national standard for  dischargeability of embezzlement in bankruptcy cases; Tex. Dep't Public Safety v. Galbreath; 1997 Lexis App. 4603 (13^th Ct. App. -Corpus Christi no writ); Dannell v. Citizen's State Bank; 754 S.W. 2d 407 ((1^3th Ct. App. - Corpus Christi, no writ). - Established that the creditor has the proof on  commercial reasonableness of a sale under UCC Article 9; and Page v. Wilkinson, 657 S.W.2 d  422 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1983) - Established in Tennessee that the insured must be  made whole before PIP coverage could be surrogated.