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Maya P. James

Associate

Maya James represents clients in high-stakes commercial litigation and in government enforcement actions across the country. She works with clients big and small in the life sciences, technology, sustainability, and financial services industries, and has experience in state and federal courts, at the trial and appellate levels, and in arbitration. Maya also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing indigent criminal defendants in proceedings to vacate murder convictions secured under a California felony-murder statute that has since been reformed. Prior to joining Keker, Van Nest & Peters, Maya served as a law clerk to Judge Jesus G. Bernal of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Maya earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in philosophy. While in law school, she worked at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and taught classes on substantive law and criminal procedure to incarcerated youth at the San Mateo County Youth Services Center. She also served as a course assistant in the Stanford Management Science & Engineering Department where she lectured on topics ranging from the application of Bayesian inference in criminal trials to statistical analysis of discrimination claims. She is a native Spanish speaker.

Maya James represents clients in high-stakes commercial litigation and in government enforcement actions across the country. She works with clients big and small in the life sciences, technology, sustainability, and financial services industries, and has experience in state and federal courts, at the trial and appellate levels, and in arbitration. Maya also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing indigent criminal defendants in proceedings to vacate murder convictions secured under a California felony-murder statute that has since been reformed. Prior to joining Keker, Van Nest & Peters, Maya served as a law clerk to Judge Jesus G. Bernal of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Maya earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in philosophy. While in law school, she worked at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and taught classes on substantive law and criminal procedure to incarcerated youth at the San Mateo County Youth Services Center. She also served as a course assistant in the Stanford Management Science & Engineering Department where she lectured on topics ranging from the application of Bayesian inference in criminal trials to statistical analysis of discrimination claims. She is a native Spanish speaker.

LA DA Halts Opposition to New Felony Murder Law Until Supreme Court Weighs In

December 31, 2019

When it came to challenging a controversial felony murder bill that went into effect Jan. 1, 2019, Southern California prosecutors took a harder line than many of their counterparts in the rest of the state. But since November, when the 4th District Court of Appeal published two opinions affirming the validity of SB 1437, the state's largest local prosecutor's office has stopped disputing the bill altogether. Read more

Genentech Dispute Highlights Growing Importance of Trade Secrets for Life Sciences Companies

September 16, 2019

The issues at stake in the case illustrate the growing importance of trade secrets protection to life sciences companies and the IP professionals who serve them. Read more

Trade Secrets Case Sees Biotech Shutdown Biosimilar Production

September 09, 2019

Genentech reaches a settlement agreement with JHL Biotech, which sees the latter cease development of biosimilars to Genentech’s products. Read more

Genentech Gets Taiwanese Co. to Abandon Biosimilars

September 09, 2019

Taiwan’s JHL Biotech has agreed to stop developing copycat versions of four Genentech biologics as part of a deal to end high-stakes trade secrets litigation. Read more

  • Presenter, "Trade Secret Year in Review," Berkeley Center for Technology and Law, 2022
  • "Combatting Police Discrimination in the Age of Big Data," Sharad Goel, Maya Perelman, Ravi Shroff, & David Alan Sklansky, 20 NEW CRIM. L. REV