T. Nicole James
by Michelle Lore
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Born: July 4, 1973; Elizabeth City, N.C
Education: William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 2003; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1995
Employment: Ameriprise Financial, associate counsel, 2004-present
Professional Associations: American Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota Black Women Lawyers Network, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Ramsey County Guardian ad Litem Program, William Mitchell Women in Law and Multicultural alumni committees
Hobbies/Interests: Live music, outdoor activities, spending time with family and friends
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Education: William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 2003; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1995
Employment: Ameriprise Financial, associate counsel, 2004-present
Professional Associations: American Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota Black Women Lawyers Network, Minnesota State Bar Association
Community Activities: Ramsey County Guardian ad Litem Program, William Mitchell Women in Law and Multicultural alumni committees
Hobbies/Interests: Live music, outdoor activities, spending time with family and friends
In-house attorney T. Nicole James isn’t afraid to get involved, really involved, in her community.
The young lawyer is active in local and national bar associations, professional projects and community service programs. And because she’s not one to sit back and let others do the work, she takes on a leadership role in nearly every activity.
“That’s just how I was raised. We’ve always been very involved in our community,” James says. “It’s a good thing to do.”
Locally, James is a member of the Minnesota Black Women Lawyers Network and serves on governing and planning committees for the organization’s annual Lena O. Smith Luncheon. She also belongs to several alumni committees at William Mitchell College of Law, and is a member of the New Lawyers Section with the Minnesota State and Hennepin County bar associations.
On a national level, James is heavily involved with the Association of Corporate Counsel, serving as a board member for the organization’s Minnesota chapter. “We create pro bono activities for in-house folks,” she explains, citing as an example the recent staffing of a business law clinic at a local library.
“It’s usually harder for in-house people to do pro bono, so we saw a need to provide that to our members,” she says.
This year, she’s also busy with the Wills for Heroes project, which provides basic estate planning services to emergency responders free of charge.
James is also committed to making her community a better place to live. She’s been a volunteer guardian ad litem in Ramsey County for more than five years and recently ended a four-year stint on the Hennepin County Domestic Fatality Review Team, where she helped examine domestic homicide cases and made recommendations to the Legislature on how it can help prevent future deaths.
When she isn’t doing community service work, James can be found at Ameriprise Financial, focusing on broker-dealer regulations. She says it’s not what she predicted she’d be doing after law school, but she’s happy nonetheless.
“I was supposed to be a family law and employment law attorney,” she says. “But this opportunity happened and it was really just a blessing. … I like working with a group to figure out the best result. I like that it’s collaborative.”
And while she’s still a new attorney, her employer has confidence in James’ legal ability. Earlier this year, she represented Ameriprise before the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a regulation the company believes was improperly passed.
“I was so excited because it was my first time talking to anyone at the SEC on their turf,” James says.
