- Represented hospitals throughout New Hampshire to obtain a permanent injunction against the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to stop violations of the hospitals’ constitutional rights through the boarding of involuntary emergency admission patients.
- Represented an international franchisor in a dispute over development of franchises in Mexico.
- Successfully represented a real estate developer in reversing a municipalities wrongful denial of a special exception, including preserving the reversal at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
- Defended staffing company in multiple nation-wide collective action claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Represented website developer against nation-wide class action alleging unfair and deceptive advertising to avoid class certification.
- Garnered arbitration award for developer eliminating a decade of service charges and claims barred by the statute of limitations pursued by regional construction material supplier.
- Part of patent litigation team representing a leader of fully automated, high-precision, high-speed die bonding and epoxy dispensing systems that successfully won the country’s first-ever bench trial held on the issue of IPR estoppel and after five years of litigation, successfully defended a 40M dollar claim by obtaining summary judgment based on patent invalidity.
- Represented software developers and customers in disputes over software implementation projects. Successfully defended engineering firm in litigation matters concerning combined stormwater and sewage overflow project.
- Successfully represented telecommunications company in bid challenge for state contract.
- Represented municipality to pursue design firm and contractor in connection with faulty waste water treatment plant re-design.
- Defended client against claim of violation of nonsolicitation agreement and obtained favorable settlement for wages and benefits not paid due to improper classification as independent contractor in violation of wage statute.
- Obtained a jury verdict for a financial planner that was underpaid commissions.
- Successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court on behalf of a timber company and its principals against an insurance company that breached its insurance agreement.
- Successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court on behalf of a restaurant owner for the invalidation of a town smoking ban.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of national roof shingle manufacturer on claims of breach of warranty and violation of the consumer protection act.
- Successfully obtained an award of benefits on behalf of widow in a workmans’ compensation matter.
- Prosecuted to a favorable settlement a claim for violation of a non-solicitation covenant and theft of trade secrets against a regional manager of a mortgage company and his new employer.
- Obtained summary judgment against an outside salesperson and then negotiated a settlement of a claim for unpaid commissions.
James P. Harris
Shareholder
Manchester
Phone:(603) 627-8152
Fax:(603) 641-8731
Email:jharris@sheehan.com
ABOUT JAMES P. HARRIS
J.P. harnesses over twenty years of diverse litigation experience to provide sound counsel to the firm’s clients. He is highly efficient, delivering quality work product that is practical and useful to address clients’ complex needs. Clients and other lawyers seek out J.P. when the stakes are high and the issues are complicated. Clients benefit from his experience servicing clients across varied sectors in all manner of pre-litigation and litigation settings. J.P. adeptly transitions between counselor and advocate, when clients need both to navigate the complexities of their particular business environment.
He has also cultivated skill in the electronic discovery practices and data mining techniques that impact all litigation matters.
Clients also seek out J.P.’s advice to manage risk before litigation or regulatory action ensues, particularly to improve the contracts that are vital to their business. In that capacity, J.P. has advised companies of all shapes and sizes, including real estate developers, manufacturers, staffing companies and a multiple listing service (MLS).
J.P. represents clients that have experienced a data breach to navigate the statutes requiring notifications and to manage the risk of claims. He also counsels companies before breaches occur on how to prepare for them and protect against them. He also guides companies through drafting and implementing records and data management policies and the management of electronically stored information.
He also serves as the firm’s Litigation Department Chair.
KEY CASES
EDUCATION
- J.D., magna cum laude , The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
- Editorial Assistant for the Catholic University Law Review
- B.A., Swarthmore College, with honors
ADMISSIONS, MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS
- State of New Hampshire - State and Federal Courts
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts - State and Federal Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- New Hampshire Bar Association (Past Member of Legislation Committee)
- American Bar Association
AWARDS
- 2022 Go To Lawyer for Cybersecurity/Data Privacy, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Chambers USA, Commercial Litigation
- 2014 40 Under Forty, New Hampshire Union Leader
- Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation
- Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2010
- Leadership New Hampshire, Class of 2016
- New England Super Lawyers®, Business Litigation
- Benchmark Litigation Star
PUBLICATIONS
- Generative Artificial Intelligence and Document Review: The Future is Now (p24)
- Chambers and Partners Real Estate Litigation: NH Laws and Practice
- Don’t oversell your cybersecurity
- Cyber insurance from the perspective of a data breach lawyer
- The fine print: key contract clauses impacting cyber liability
- Tips on Keeping Your Private Information Safe
- Treasury Department issues updated advisory on potential sanctions for making ransomware payments
- Thinking about sharing data with a new vendor? Will you be responsible if the vendor’s systems are breached?
- Does your sales team want to keep data about your customers forever? Do the recently adopted privacy statutes allow that?
- The Potential Impact of the FTC’s Data Privacy Orders
- Cybersecurity Experts Issue Ransomware Alert for Healthcare Industry
- Preparing for Cyberattacks
- Update on HB 1680
- Panelist, BIA's Virtual NH Leadership Summit, Topic: possible legislative actions to provide limited immunity to business owners against Covid-19 claims
- Presenter, NH Bar Association, Issues Arising from Corporate and Limited Liability Company Fractures, Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- N.H. Attorney General Concludes Employers Will Not Be Liable to Employees for Workers’ Compensation Benefits If Employers Follow Published Guidelines
- Will Your Commercial General Liability Insurance Policy Cover COVID-19 Claims?
- When Business Resumes, What Responsibilities Will Companies Have to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19?
- NH Attorney General Permits Not-For-Profit Boards to Meet Remotely During State of Emergency
- Remote Notarizations in NH During This State of Emergency – Don’t Forget the Formalities When Notarizing Documents
- Don’t Forget About Cybersecurity with Increased Telecommuting
- Carefully Safeguarding the Sensitive Data of Your Business
- Business-Liability Protections Face Steep Political and Legal Obstacles
- Presenter, Governor's Economic Re-Opening Task Force, Liability Businesses and Employers Might Face Due to COVID-19 Claims
- Panelist, BIA webinar, Are We Liable? What Employers Need to Know About COVID-19-related Exposure
- NH Weighs California-like Privacy Law
- Misrepresenting Data Security Measures Put Businesses at Risk
- The Risks of Working at Home
- How State’s New Social Media Access Law Will Work
- Dealing with a Data Breach
- CLIENT ALERT: How CA’s New Data Privacy Law Will Affect You
- Speaker, NH Bar Association CLE Panel, A Practical Guide to Evidence: What You Need to Know in Every Court (March 2019)
- Speaker, NH Bar Association, The Law of Noncompetes (May 2018)
- Speaker, NH Health Care Association, 2018 Spring Conference, Data Breaches in the Healthcare Sector (May 2018)
- Presenter, Public Sector Seminar, Data Breaches, (October 2018)
- Privacy Regs From Across the Pond
- Online ‘Influencer’ Rules
- Efficiently Mining an Opponent's Discovery
- Three Lessons from the Equifax Data Breach
- Copyright Office Moves to Electronic DMCA Registry
- Speaker, NH Bar Association, Liability for Officers, Directors and Owners of Limited Liability Companies and Closely-Held Corporations
- Dealing with a data breach: Steps commonly undertaken when employee or customer information is stolen
- NH Legal Perspective: Social media and the employee - From hiring to departure
- NH Legal Perspective: Key consideration to using staffing companies to find temp workers
- How state’s new social media access law will work: Measure gives employees privacy in their personal email and social media accounts
- NH Legal Perspective: Steps An Employer Can Take To Reduce Risk When Firing An Employee
- Recent cyber security presenter at The World Affairs Council
INDUSTRY & CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
- Board Member, Granite United Way
- Former Chair, St. Joseph Community Services Board of Directors (Meals on Wheels for Hillsborough County)
- Former Chair of Board of Trustees, the Kevin T. McHugh Memorial Scholarship Fund
ATTORNEY /
James P. Harris
Shareholder
Manchester
Business Litigation • Intellectual Property • Data Breach • Data Privacy & Security • Electronic Discovery • Labor & Employment • Mediation & Arbitration
ABOUT JAMES P. HARRIS
J.P. harnesses over twenty years of diverse litigation experience to provide sound counsel to the firm’s clients. He is highly efficient, delivering quality work product that is practical and useful to address clients’ complex needs. Clients and other lawyers seek out J.P. when the stakes are high and the issues are complicated. Clients benefit from his experience servicing clients across varied sectors in all manner of pre-litigation and litigation settings. J.P. adeptly transitions between co...
KEY CASES
Represented hospitals throughout New Hampshire to obtain a permanent injunction against the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to stop violations of the hospitals’ constitutional rights through the boarding of involuntary emergency admission patients.
Represented an international franchisor in a dispute over development of franchises in Mexico.
Successfully represented a real estate developer in reversing a municipalities wrongful denial of a special exception, including preserving the reversal at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Defended staffing company in multiple nation-wide collective action claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Represented website developer against nation-wide class action alleging unfair and deceptive advertising to avoid class certification.
Garnered arbitration award for developer eliminating a decade of service charges and claims barred by the statute of limitations pursued by regional construction material supplier.
Part of patent litigation team representing a leader of fully automated, high-precision, high-speed die bonding and epoxy dispensing systems that successfully won the country’s first-ever bench trial held on the issue of IPR estoppel and after five years of litigation, successfully defended a 40M dollar claim by obtaining summary judgment based on patent invalidity.
Represented software developers and customers in disputes over software implementation projects. Successfully defended engineering firm in litigation matters concerning combined stormwater and sewage overflow project.
Successfully represented telecommunications company in bid challenge for state contract.
Represented municipality to pursue design firm and contractor in connection with faulty waste water treatment plant re-design.
Defended client against claim of violation of nonsolicitation agreement and obtained favorable settlement for wages and benefits not paid due to improper classification as independent contractor in violation of wage statute.
Obtained a jury verdict for a financial planner that was underpaid commissions.
Successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court on behalf of a timber company and its principals against an insurance company that breached its insurance agreement.
Successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court on behalf of a restaurant owner for the invalidation of a town smoking ban.
Obtained summary judgment on behalf of national roof shingle manufacturer on claims of breach of warranty and violation of the consumer protection act.
Successfully obtained an award of benefits on behalf of widow in a workmans’ compensation matter.
Prosecuted to a favorable settlement a claim for violation of a non-solicitation covenant and theft of trade secrets against a regional manager of a mortgage company and his new employer.
Obtained summary judgment against an outside salesperson and then negotiated a settlement of a claim for unpaid commissions.
EDUCATION
- J.D., magna cum laude , The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
- Editorial Assistant for the Catholic University Law Review
- B.A., Swarthmore College, with honors
ADMISSIONS, MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS
- State of New Hampshire - State and Federal Courts
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts - State and Federal Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- New Hampshire Bar Association (Past Member of Legislation Committee)
- American Bar Association
AWARDS
- 2022 Go To Lawyer for Cybersecurity/Data Privacy, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Chambers USA, Commercial Litigation
- 2014 40 Under Forty, New Hampshire Union Leader
- Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation
- Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2010
- Leadership New Hampshire, Class of 2016
- New England Super Lawyers®, Business Litigation
- Benchmark Litigation Star
PUBLICATIONS
- Generative Artificial Intelligence and Document Review: The Future is Now (p24)
- Chambers and Partners Real Estate Litigation: NH Laws and Practice
- Don’t oversell your cybersecurity
- Cyber insurance from the perspective of a data breach lawyer
- The fine print: key contract clauses impacting cyber liability
- Tips on Keeping Your Private Information Safe
- Treasury Department issues updated advisory on potential sanctions for making ransomware payments
- Thinking about sharing data with a new vendor? Will you be responsible if the vendor’s systems are breached?
- Does your sales team want to keep data about your customers forever? Do the recently adopted privacy statutes allow that?
Cybersecurity Experts Issue Ransomware Alert for Healthcare Industry
- Update on HB 1680
- Panelist, BIA's Virtual NH Leadership Summit, Topic: possible legislative actions to provide limited immunity to business owners against Covid-19 claims
- Presenter, NH Bar Association, Issues Arising from Corporate and Limited Liability Company Fractures, Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- N.H. Attorney General Concludes Employers Will Not Be Liable to Employees for Workers’ Compensation Benefits If Employers Follow Published Guidelines
Will Your Commercial General Liability Insurance Policy Cover COVID-19 Claims?
When Business Resumes, What Responsibilities Will Companies Have to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19?
NH Attorney General Permits Not-For-Profit Boards to Meet Remotely During State of Emergency
Don’t Forget About Cybersecurity with Increased Telecommuting
Carefully Safeguarding the Sensitive Data of Your Business
Business-Liability Protections Face Steep Political and Legal Obstacles
- Presenter, Governor's Economic Re-Opening Task Force, Liability Businesses and Employers Might Face Due to COVID-19 Claims
- Panelist, BIA webinar, Are We Liable? What Employers Need to Know About COVID-19-related Exposure
- NH Weighs California-like Privacy Law
Misrepresenting Data Security Measures Put Businesses at Risk
- The Risks of Working at Home
- How State’s New Social Media Access Law Will Work
- Dealing with a Data Breach
- CLIENT ALERT: How CA’s New Data Privacy Law Will Affect You
- Speaker, NH Bar Association CLE Panel, A Practical Guide to Evidence: What You Need to Know in Every Court (March 2019)
- Speaker, NH Bar Association, The Law of Noncompetes (May 2018)
- Speaker, NH Health Care Association, 2018 Spring Conference, Data Breaches in the Healthcare Sector (May 2018)
- Presenter, Public Sector Seminar, Data Breaches, (October 2018)
- Privacy Regs From Across the Pond
- Online ‘Influencer’ Rules
- Efficiently Mining an Opponent's Discovery
- Three Lessons from the Equifax Data Breach
- Copyright Office Moves to Electronic DMCA Registry
- Speaker, NH Bar Association, Liability for Officers, Directors and Owners of Limited Liability Companies and Closely-Held Corporations
- Dealing with a data breach: Steps commonly undertaken when employee or customer information is stolen
- NH Legal Perspective: Social media and the employee - From hiring to departure
- NH Legal Perspective: Key consideration to using staffing companies to find temp workers
- How state’s new social media access law will work: Measure gives employees privacy in their personal email and social media accounts
- NH Legal Perspective: Steps An Employer Can Take To Reduce Risk When Firing An Employee
- Recent cyber security presenter at The World Affairs Council
INDUSTRY & CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
- Board Member, Granite United Way
- Former Chair, St. Joseph Community Services Board of Directors (Meals on Wheels for Hillsborough County)
- Former Chair of Board of Trustees, the Kevin T. McHugh Memorial Scholarship Fund