James Robart

James Louis Robart (born September 2, 1947) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Early life and education Robart was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1947. Robart's father, Victor Robart, worked for Standard Oil of California as a ship captain. James Robart grew up in the Richmond Beach neighborhood of Shoreline, Washington, and graduated from Shoreline High School, where he was student body president. He attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Robart received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Whitman College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973. As a student, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity’s Gamma Epsilon chapter chapter at Whitman and was administrative editor of the Georgetown Law Journal at Georgetown . He also was a legislative assistant to United States Representative John Dellenback and worked with Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Legal career From 1973 to 2004, Robart was in private practice in Seattle with the law firm of Lane Powell Moss & Miller (later Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP and then Lane Powell PC). He specialized in civil litigation. He was the chair of the firm's Litigation Department from 1992 to 1998, and was managing partner at the firm in 2003 and 2004. As an attorney, Robart tried numerous cases, including high-profile litigation related to Washington's Initiative 695, in which he successfully represented the cities of Bainbridge Island, Bremerton and Lakewood in both the trial court and the Washington Supreme Court. He did pro bono work with Evergreen Legal Services, and independently represented Southeast Asian refugees. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.