Honourable James Adams

The Honourable James P. Adams, LL.B., BA

St. John’s, NL

Hon. James (Jim) Adams served as a judge for 26 years and retired from the bench in August 2022.

In 1996, Jim was appointed to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, General Division. As a judge of the senior trial court of general jurisdiction in the province, he presided over cases of all types, including commercial, contract, family, criminal, administrative, bankruptcy, negligence, estate law, and cases that did not fit into a generally recognized category. This experience exposed Jim to a vast body of knowledge in multiple business areas.

Judging is a unique experience that cannot be readily compared to any other occupation. Jim was required to read extensively in the area of the law involved and to be prepared to interpret the relevant legal principles (sometimes in unfamiliar areas of the law) and apply them to the facts as found. In criminal jury trials, this involved explaining complicated legal principles to lay jurors unfamiliar with the law or procedure and assisting them in their fact-finding and decision-making roles. Criminal jury trials are complex and dynamic events requiring considerable human management skills.

In judge-alone trials, both civil and criminal, Jim was also the finder of fact, which required listening carefully to the oral evidence and reading sometimes voluminous documentary evidence to arrive at the facts. Trials can last for months, followed by the hard work of reviewing the evidence and arriving at and writing a decision.

Before his appointment as a judge, having been admitted to the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1975, Jim practiced law for 21 years with the firm now known as Cox & Palmer. His practice concentrated on civil litigation, including insurance defence and administrative/labour law. During his years as a lawyer, Jim practiced in a major local firm (which, just before his appointment, became a major regional firm). For several years, he sat on the firm’s management committee and, for a time, was managing partner. Jim was on the team negotiating with several other regional and national law firms, which ultimately led to the formation of a successful merger of four Atlantic law firms.

Jim had his right leg amputated above the knee after being run over by a drunk driver in 1963. He wears a prosthetic leg.

Board Memberships and Committee Experience

  • Founding Chair and Director, Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (1984 – Present)
  • President, Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association (2012 – 2013)
  • Director, Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association (2000 – 2012)
  • President, Canadian Bar Association, Newfoundland Branch (1983 – 1984)

Past Community Board Experience

  • Director, Kinsmen Club of St. John’s
  • Director and President, St. John’s Boys and Girls Club
  • Member, National and Provincial Council, Canadian Bar Association
  • Chair, Arthritis Society, Newfoundland and Labrador Branch
  • Warden and Director, St. Thomas’ Anglican Church
  • Vice Chair and Director, Anglican Homes Inc.
  • Member, St. John’s Rotary Club

Education and Credentials

  • LL.B., University of New Brunswick (1975)
  • BA (Political Science & History), Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (1972)
  • Lecturer, Bar Admission Course, The Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Co-author, “Damages in Litigation,” presented at Halifax legal education seminar (1995)
  • Presented at multiple professional development seminars on topics such as “Managing the Collective Agreement,” “Wrongful Dismissal,” and related issues, including harassment in the workplace and workers compensation, prior to judicial appointment

Posted: May 2, 2024