Practice areas: Securities Litigation, Business & Corporate, Securities & Corporate Finance
Licensed in Ohio since: 1967
Education: New York University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2023 
Free Consultation Cummins Law LLC
Scripps Center312 Walnut Street, Suite 1530
Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513-721-9000 Email: James R. Cummins Visit website
As a founding member of the Cincinnati, Ohio, law firm Cummins & Law LLC, James R. Cummins focuses his law practice on the areas of business and corporate law. Representing clients in the Cincinnati metropolitan area, he works with cases involving business formation and development, SEC whistleblower actions, securities fraud litigation, trade secrets, non-competition agreements and more.
Mr. Cummins earned his law degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he graduated in 1967. He later earned a Master of Laws degree in international business transactions from New York University. He is admitted to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky state courts, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First, Fourth and Sixth Circuits and the Supreme Court of the United States.
In his decades of practice, Mr. Cummins has been involved in a number of high-profile, complex corporate litigation cases, some of which involved hundreds of millions of dollars. One case he worked on, a securities and subprime mortgage fraud lawsuit against the companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, was eventually settled for $410 million.
His experience and thoroughness have earned Mr. Cummins respect within his profession and he has become a highly sought-after speaker for professional organizations. Among other honors he has received, he earned the highest rating of AV Preeminent* from the attorney peer-review service Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Cummins is a member of professional organizations including the Ohio State Bar Association, the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Kentucky State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
*AV®, BV®, AV Preeminent® and BV Distinguished® are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general practice standards.
First Admitted: 1967, Ohio
Professional Webpage: https://cumminslaw.us/james_profile.html
Bar / Professional Activity
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 1970
- Appointed Member, Advisory Committee on Local Rules, U.S.District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- United States Supreme Court, 2009
- Member, Ohio State Bar Association; Chairman 2022-25, Corporate Counsel Section, 2016
- Member, Subcommittee on Investment Companies and Investment Advisers, American Bar Association, 1981
- United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1995
- Ohio Bar, 1967
- United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2008
- Member, Long Range Planning Subcommittee, Cincinnati Bar Association, 1989
- Member, Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities, American Bar Association, 1981
- Kentucky Bar, 1999
- United States District Court District of Columbia, 2004
- United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2009
- Member, Kentucky Bar Association
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Clorox (NYSE:CLX)
- Co-lead trial attorney in securities fraud litigation against DPL Inc. (NYSE:DPL) resulting in global settlement of $145.5 million, ranking at the time as the 21st largest U.S. securities litigation settlement, 2003
- Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (NASD:SDRC); Defense of Corporate Officer, SEC Enforcement
- Counsel to Class, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, et al. (Freddie Mac II Securities Litigation), United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Case No. 4:08-cv-160, 2008
- Frisch's Restaurants (AMEX:FRS)
- Class Counsel, In Re DPL Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. C-3-02-355, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2002
- Class Counsel, ChoiceCare Litigation, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 1984
- Special Counsel, State of Ohio, Milk Antitrust Litigation, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
- Co-lead trial counsel in first successful antitrust, RICO and securities fraud case against an HMO system, resulting in $108 million jury verdict., 1988
- Special Governance Counsel, Proxy Contest, Professional Bancorp (AMEX:MDB), 2001
- Co Counsel for Class, In Re Fannie Mae Securities Litigation, Consolidated Civil Action No. 04-cv-01639, United States District Court, District of Columbia, 2004
- Special Settlement Counsel for Fifth Third Bank, David Slone, et al. v. Fifth Third Bancorp, et al., United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, Case No. 1:03-cv-211, 2007
- Derivative Plaintiff Counsel, In Re FirstEnergy Shareholder Derivative Litigation, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2002
- Special Counsel, Countrywide Credit Industries (NYSE:CCR), 2006
- Co-lead trial attorney in securities fraud litigation against Freddie Mac resulting in $410 million settlement, ranking the settlement at the time as the 9th largest securities class action in U.S. federal securities cases, 2006
- Special Securities Defense Counsel, F&C Flavoring Co. (NASD), 2001
- In Re Freddie Mac Securities Litigation, MDL 1584, Lead Case No. 03-cv-4261, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 2006
- In Re OM Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. I :02-cv-2163, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, 2002
- Special Securities Counsel, Austern Trust v. Peter H. Forster, et al., Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, 2008
Special Licenses / Certifications
- LLM (International Business Transactions), New York University College of Law, 1968
Educational Background
- New York University, Graduate Law School, LLM (International Business Transactions), 1968
- University of Cincinnati, College of Law
- Princeton University, A.B., 1964
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Chairman & Featured Speaker, "Corporate Ethics:Can Trust Be Rebuilt", KPMG Forensic, 2002
- Featured Speaker, "Sarbanes-Oxley Act Implications for Internal Auditors", Protiviti, Arthur Andersen Risk Management Group, 2002
- Featured Speaker, "Corporate Governance and Internal Controls:What Sarbanes Oxley Means for Business", National Business Institute, 2005
- Invited Speaker, "Multi-District Litigation/Class Actions", Southern District of Ohio Federal Bench Bar Conference, 2007
- Government Investigations and Shareholder Litigation Corporate Symposium, Invited Presenter, "Protecting Shareholders' Rights from Corporate Wrongdoing", University of Dayton School of Law, 2007
- Featured Speaker, "Just Say "No": Accountants' Liability in Civil Securities Cases", American Accounting Association, 2008
- The New Whistleblower in Town: SEC's Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rules in Litigation, Featured Speaker, CIncinnati Bar Ass'n, 2011
- "Advising Corporate Directors and Officers", Invited Speaker, Ohio State Bar Ass'n, 2012
- "The New Barbarians at the Gate--SEC Whistleblowers and Activist Shareholders: Defenses and Best Practices, Featured Speaker, Ohio State Bar Association, 2012
- Lecturer, Attorney Responses to Accountant Opinion Request Letters, Cincinnati Bar Association, 1987
- Civil RICO, Ohio Northern University, 1988
- The Year 2000 Time Bomb: Legal & Corporate Governance Implications for Board of Directors, Trustees and Officers, Cincinnati and Columbus Bar Associations, 1999
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Designed and led unprecedented proxy contest victory resulting in change of management of American Stock Exchange bank holding company. Recognized by US Banker as an "exercise in corporate democracy"., 2016
- Recognized by the American Lawyer, "Big Suits" for $410 million record settlement in Freddie Mac Securities Litigation., 2003
- Former Member, Advisory Committee on Local Rules, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- Best Lawyers in America, recognized as to Securities and Corporate Counsel 2015-23
Honors
- Recognition, The American Lawyer, Corporate General Counsel's Selection for Legal Resource in Ohio, Winners' Circle, The American Lawyer, 2006
- Member, Ohio Supreme Court, Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of Supreme Court of Ohio, 1994
- Selected as one of 66 U.S. (236 internationally) recognized by peers and clients as leader in field of corporate governance, International Selection, Corporate Governance, International Who's Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers, 2002
- Recognized as one of the top 20 Ohio Securities and Corporate Finance Counsel 2007-2023, Ohio Super Lawyer, Super Lawyer, 0000
- Corporate General Counsels' Selection, The American Lawyer
Office location for James R. Cummins
Scripps Center
312 Walnut Street, Suite 1530
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2023