 He was in private practice in Ruston from 1971 to 1998, and was a business law instructor at Louisiana Tech University from 1992 to 1998.He was a judge on the Ruston City Court from 1985 to 1998.On January 27, 1998, James was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana vacated by John Malach Shaw.