Insights on Legal Aid services in Jacksonville
James A. Kowalski, Jr. has served as the President and CEO of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid since December 2012.
A graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco School of Law, Jim served as an Assistant State Attorney from 1989-1996 before moving into a civil trial practice; he has tried more than 65 civil and criminal jury trials to verdict.
Jim was one of the first consumer lawyers in the nation to uncover the mortgage banking practice of “robo-signing” (the Wall Street Journal blamed him for causing the housing crisis) and in December 2010, he testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary on the topic of “Foreclosed Justice: Causes and Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis.”
Jim was named “Consumer Protection Lawyer of the Year” by the Consumer Protection Law Committee of the Florida Bar. He is the recipient of the 2014 Haas Public Service Award from UC Berkeley and in June 2016, Jim received the Florida Bar Foundation President’s Award for Excellence.
In October 2018, Jim was named the “Consumer Advocate of the Year” by the National Association of Consumer Advocates.