International Academy of Trial Lawyers Elects McManis Faulkner Founder James McManis Secretary of International Relations

Online, May 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Traci Stuart / Chuck Brown
Blattel Communications
415.397.4811
[email protected] / [email protected]

James McManis
McManis Faulkner
408.279.8700
[email protected]

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF TRIAL LAWYERS ELECTS MCMANIS FAULKNER FOUNDER JAMES MCMANIS SECRETARY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

MCMANIS ALSO SELECTED AS CHAIR OF ACADEMY'S CHINA PROGRAM

SAN JOSE, Calif.; May 20, 2010 - The International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) elected James McManis, a founding partner of leading Northern California trial firm McManis Faulkner, to its executive committee as Secretary of International Relations. In addition, after serving as the organization's China Program Vice-Chair, McManis will chair the program beginning in 2011. He will succeed Raymond Tam, who has served as the China Program's Chair since its inception 16 years ago.

"It is a great honor to serve on the executive committee of the Academy, and I look forward to taking an active role in the many initiatives we have planned for the coming year, including the continued expansion of our international outreach," said McManis. "I am also honored to follow in the footsteps of Ray Tam, the founder and architect of the China Program. In its 16-year history, the program has been very influential in promoting the Rule of Law in the People's Republic of China and in moving United States - China relations as a whole.

As Secretary of International Relations, McManis is charged with expanding the IATL's international roster of Fellows, which spans 36 different nations.

The Academy's China Program was started in 1994 to assist in the development of the legal, economic and financial infrastructure of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The program gives Chinese lawyers and leaders the opportunity to travel to the U.S., spend two weeks in the home of an IATL Fellow and be involved in the professional and personal life of a practicing American trial lawyer. The visit is preceded by a one-week orientation program in Honolulu. To date, about 150 Chinese lawyers have participated and returned to the PRC to serve in prominent positions in the Chinese government.

McManis has been a member of the Academy since 2002. In the almost 40 years since founding McManis Faulkner, McManis has represented many Silicon Valley companies with commercial, trade secret and intellectual property issues, as well as individuals in a variety of matters, including civil rights actions, employment disputes, and criminal defense. A member of the trial bar for more than 40 years, McManis is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 11 consecutive years and appears in Who's Who in America. McManis received his J.D. from Berkeley Law at the University of California (1967) and his B.A. in history, with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University (1964). He recently completed a term as President of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association.

The International Academy is a group of elite trial lawyers representing both sides of the bar: prosecutors and defense attorneys in criminal cases, and plaintiff's lawyers and defense counsel in civil matters (including business and personal injury cases). While the majority of its Fellows come from the U.S., the Academy includes lawyers from more than 36 countries. Fellowship is by invitation only, and trial lawyers are invited to become Fellows only after an extremely careful vetting process that includes discreet inquiries of both judges and other trial lawyers of high standing. U.S. membership is limited to the top 500 trial lawyers under the age of 70. The Academy's purposes are to promote reforms in the law, facilitate the administration of justice, promote the rule of law internationally and elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession.

McManis Faulkner, a San Jose, Calif.-based trial firm, provides a full range of services, representing both corporations and individuals through trial and appeal. The firm handles a wide range of litigation, including business, civil rights, class actions, criminal, employment, family, general civil, intellectual property, personal injury, probate, and professional negligence. With experienced, well-trained trial lawyers and staff, McManis prides itself on its diversity - beyond ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, women comprise a majority of the firm's management and staff.

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