Dedicated To
Justice For Consumers
Biography
Attorney James R. Kristy, Esq. is the founder and principal trial attorney of Kristy & Kananen in Long Beach, California. A top-rated trial attorney with more than 20 years of legal experience, Mr. Kristy represents plaintiffs in civil litigation.
Kristy & Kananen's practice is focused in the following areas:
- Employment Law, on behalf of employees in wrongful-termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour (unpaid overtime) cases;
- Insurance Bad Faith, on behalf of policyholders whose claims have been unreasonably denied; and
- Construction Defect Litigation, on behalf of homeowners
After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in economics, Mr. Kristy worked for more than 20 years in corporate financial management at large U.S. corporations. Since 2000, Mr. Kristy has practiced civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. His corporate and legal experience enables him to navigate the complexities of civil litigation against large corporations. Mr. Kristy is dedicated to achieving justice for consumers.
Mr. Kristy attended Whittier Law School in the evening while still working full-time and obtained his Juris Doctor in 2000. At Whittier Law School, he served as editor-in-chief of the Whittier Law Review and published an article in that journal concerning the Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
When he began to practice law in 2000, Mr. Kristy worked for prominent Southern California law firms that represented plaintiffs in personal injury, product liability, construction defects, wrongful death, and insurance-bad-faith cases. He then established Kristy & Kananen in 2003 and continues to advocate on behalf of those victimized by employers, home-builders and insurers. Having handled more than 100 cases, he has recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for those he has served.
Highly active in his legal community, Mr. Kristy is a member-emeritus of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles ("CAALA") Board of Governors. Mr. Kristy has organized and presented many continuing legal-education seminars on a variety of topics.
In addition to his admission to practice in California Superior Court, Mr. Kristy is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Education
- Whittier College School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- Juris Doctor - 05/2000
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Bachelor of Arts - 12/1978
- Major: Economics
Bar Admission
- California, 2000
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Professional Associations
- Member, State Bar of California, continuously since November 21, 2000
- Member, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Member, United States District Court, Central District of California
- Member, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Honors
- Mr. Kristy was honored to be sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, during a session of the Court
- Member Emeritus, Board of Governors, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- Active Member of the Board of Governors since 2005, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- Chair, Education Committee, 2008 and 2009, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
- Recipient, CAALA Presidential Awards: 2003, 2005, and 2006
Classes & Seminars
- CAALA 2017 Las Vegas Convention, Ethics panel: "Handling Retainers and Referral Fees Properly."
- CAALA 2016 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: “Essential Discovery in a Bad Faith Case.”
- CAALA 2015 Las Vegas Convention, Evidence panel: "Medical Bills and Collateral Sources: Challenges to Admissibility."
- CAALA 2014 Las Vegas Convention, Liens panel: "Subbing-in or Subbing-out: Issues Regarding Attorneys' Liens."
- CAALA May 21, 2014 seminar, "The Affordable Care Act: What the ACA Mandates."
- CAALA 2013 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Post-Claims Underwriting: How to Make the Case for Bad Faith."
- CAALA 2012 Las Vegas Convention, Liens panel: "Liens: When and How to Get the Court Involved."
- CAALA 2011 Las Vegas Convention, Law-and-Motion panel: "Anti-SLAPP."
- Panel speaker, California State Bar Annual Meeting, September 26, 2008: "Getting Best Results in Mediation: Competitive versus Cooperative Negotiation."
- CAALA 2008 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Cumis Counsel: What You Need to Know."
- CAALA 2006 Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Assignments of Rights and Covenants Not to Execute."
- CAALA Las Vegas Annual Convention Co-Chair and seminar moderator: 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009
- Chair or Co-Chair of five other individual CAALA seminars during the years of 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2014
Practice Areas
- Employment Law- Employee 60%
- Wrongful Termination-Employee
- Discrimination
- Disability
- Wage & Hour Laws- Employee
- Bad Faith Insurance
- Class Actions- Plaintiff
- Construction Law 20%
- Business & Commercial Law
Published Works
- Author, Advocate (the monthly law journal of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles) September 2017 "Insurance" issue: “Reformation of an Insurance Policy.”
- Author, Advocate August 2015 “Insurance” issue: ”The Duty to Provide an Adequate Defense."
- Author, Advocate November 2014 "Professional Liability" issue: "Subbed out or Subbed In: Issues Relating to Liens for Attorney's Fees."
- Associate Editor, Advocate, 2003 through 2014
- CAALA 2017 Las Vegas Convention, Ethics panel: “Handling Retainers and Referral Fees Properly."
- CAALA 2016 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: “Essential Discovery in a Bad Faith Case.”
- CAALA 2015 Las Vegas Convention, Evidence panel: "Medical Bills and Collateral Sources: Challenges to Admissibility."
- CAALA 2014 Las Vegas Convention, Liens panel: "Subbing-in or Subbing-out: Issues Regarding Attorneys' Liens."
- CAALA May 21, 2014 seminar, "The Affordable Care Act: What the ACA Mandates."
- CAALA 2013 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Post-Claims Underwriting: How to Make the Case for Bad Faith."
- CAALA 2012 LasVegas Convention, Liens panel: "Liens: When and How to Get the Court Involved."
- CAALA 2011 Las Vegas Convention, Law-and-Motion panel: "Anti-SLAPP."
- Panel speaker, California State Bar Annual Meeting, September 26, 2008: "Getting Best Results in Mediation: Competitive versus Cooperative Negotiation."
- CAALA 2008 Las Vegas Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "CumisCounsel: What You Need to Know."
- CAALA 2006 Convention, Insurance Bad Faith panel: "Assignments of Rights and Covenants Not to Execute."
- CAALA Las Vegas Annual Convention Co-Chair and seminar moderator: 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
- Chair or Co-Chair of five other individual CAALA seminars during the years of 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2014.
Representative Cases
- Olvera, et al. v. Williams, et al., 2019, Los Angeles County Superior Court
- Grimsley v. Hanjin Shipping Tec, Inc., et al., 2019, Los Angeles County Superior Court
Languages
- English
- French
Past Positions
- California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 3 under the Hon. Edward J. Wallin (Ret.), Externship
Current Employment Position
- Principal Trial Attorney