James Brown

James and Sherrie are proud to have shared those experiences with their three children — Ryan, Tyler, and Devyn — and now have several grandchildren to spoil for years to come. Their favorite spot to spend time together has become Walt Disney World, which James affectionately calls his second home. James strongly feels that as you grow older, you must still be a kid at heart. It's important to play with the kids, ride the rides, and be active in his relationships with his kids and grandkids. His passion for kids also drove years spent as a youth hockey coach. After coaching kids from age 6 all the way to 15, James learned how important it is for adults to have a positive effect on children — and years later, when he saw those kids carry the same respect and discipline outside the rink that they were taught in hockey, he realized he had made an impact. They still call him “Coach.”

James is also passionate about helping others and has volunteered with the American Red Cross alongside Sherrie and the kids since 2011. When working a shift, James and his family respond to residential fires and provide aid to homeowners in the form of a safe place to stay and funds to replace food and clothing lost in the fire. James and Sherrie have also been deployed numerous times to national disasters such as tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes to provide much-needed hot meals to those who have lost everything.

A Career Built on Helping People Out of Debt

In 1994, less than 12 months out of law school, James began his career with a passion for helping people get out of debt and opened his first consumer bankruptcy firm in St. Louis, Missouri. James's passion for bankruptcy work first came when he himself had to file for bankruptcy during law school after being laid off as an assembly worker with General Motors. The process was difficult, but something positive came out of it: it clarified what he wanted to do. James firmly believes that in law school you take classes in the law, but you aren't taught what kind of work will make you happy or how to build a sustainable law business. He is grateful to have learned his passion early and followed his dream to build a multi-million-dollar consumer bankruptcy firm.

By the end of 1996, James's St. Louis firm broke the $1 million mark in revenue and he was approached to open a second office in the Detroit area. He took the same systems, policies, and procedures that propelled the St. Louis office and duplicated them in Detroit. By 1998, both the St. Louis and Detroit offices were the top filing bankruptcy firms in their respective districts. In 1998, James again duplicated his systems and opened a third location in Kansas City, Missouri, which was also extremely successful.

By 2008, James sold his interests in the Detroit and Kansas City offices to focus on St. Louis, at which time he also began representing consumers against abusive bill collectors. Recently, James joined the Metro Detroit Bankruptcy Law Group as an outside managing partner, using his experience to guide our firm's practice and growth.

Education & Recognition

James received his business degree from Lindenwood University in 1989 and his Juris Doctor from St. Louis University in 1993. He was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1993, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in 1994, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in 1995. James has served on the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri.

In 2009, James was selected as one of America's Top 20 Premier Experts, for which he was featured in national publications including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek, as well as interview appearances on Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC. He co-authored a book with America's Premier Experts titled Shift Happens, which reviewed the then-escalating economic recession and became a best-seller in three different categories soon after release. He has also been a featured guest on the prominent St. Louis radio show “The Next Big Thing” and served as the legal expert for St. Louis radio personality Niecy Davis from Foxy 95.5. James was voted “St. Louis' Best Attorney to Have on Your Side” in 2008 and “Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year” in 2010.

In addition to Shift Happens, James is the author of several books published between 2008 and 2013:

• Missouri Motorcycle Accident Book: Live to Ride and Ride to Live, The Ultimate Biker's Guide (2011)
• How to Sue Your Debt Collectors (2013)
• Missouri Accident Book (2010)
• Get Out of Debt: Secrets Your Creditors Don't Want You to Know (2008)
• The 7 Mistakes to Avoid the Dismissal of Your Bankruptcy Case (2008)