“For 135 years, Fennemore Craig has played a key role in building our communities — creating possibilities for clients and team members.”
JAMES GOODNOW
Goodnow is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fennemore Craig, which was founded in 1885 and is one of the largest 250 law firms in the United States. The Harvard Law School graduate took the reins of the firm at age 36, which made him the youngest known lawyer elevated to the top position of a large law firm in U.S. history.
His meteoric ascent in the legal world was notably documented by The American Lawyer in a cover story entitled, “Meet the New Boss … James Goodnow shows what the firm of the future might look like.” Apple profiled James in a worldwide “Apple in Business” ad campaign for his innovative use of technology in the law. The ABA Journal named him one of the “techiest lawyers in America” in a cover story.
Goodnow is recognized for his knowledge of the legal industry and legal management. He is the co-author of Motivating Millennials, a book for companies attempting to grasp the intricacies of today’s multi-generational workforce. The book debuted at #1 in the Amazon new release business management category. Goodnow also writes a column for Above the Law on management, legal innovation and leadership.
Goodnow has appeared on or been covered by countless media outlets, including NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal. Goodnow is a regular keynote speaker and panelist at many of the world’s leading legal conferences.
Education
J.D., Harvard Law School
Master’s Degree, Cambridge University (UK) Judge Business School, entrepreneurship (expected 2022)
Thesis: “Reboot: Using Entrepreneurial Strategies to Drive Innovation in Established Businesses”
Harvard Business School, Management Certificate
(“Becoming a Better Manager,” HBSO)
BS, summa cum laude, Santa Clara University (graduated 1st in class)
Phi Beta Kappa
Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society
Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society
ARTICLES AND PRESENTATIONS
Author, “How Biglaw Firms Can Think Like A Startup,” Above the Law, September 9, 2022
Author, “Down With The LSAT?” Above the Law, August 26, 2022
Author, “Law Firm Marriages 101,” Above the Law, July 29, 2022
Quoted, “What’s Driving a Wave of Midsize Mergers,” Law.com, July 25, 2022
Author, “Is The Problem With Partnerships The Partnership?” Above the Law, July 15, 2022
Quoted, “The Pandemic Changed the Workforce. How Have Mid-Market Firms Been Impacted?” Law.com PRO, July 8, 2022
Author, “Getting to Know,” Above the Law, July 1, 2022
Quoted, “’Aggressive’ Corporate Lawyer Market Drove 2 Firms to Merge,” Daily Journal, June 29, 2022
Quoted, “Bay Area Law Firm Joins Fennemore in Major Merger,” Law Week Colorado, June 28, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore, Seeking a Sweet Spot in the Market, Has Paved a Path to the Am Law 200 Through Mergers,” Law.com, June 23, 2022
Author, “The Biglaw Recession Playbook,” Above the Law, June 17, 2022
Quoted, “One of Fresno’s Largest Law Firms Expands its Footprint,” The Business Journal, June 17, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Agrees Tie-up With 113-year Old East Bay firm Wendel Rosen,” Global Legal Post, June 16, 2022
Quoted, “Oakland Law Firm Wendel Rosen Merging With Phoenix-based Fennemore,” San Francisco Business Times, June 15, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Joins Forces With Bay Area’s Wendel Rosen,” AZ Big Media, June 15, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Mergers to Add 56 Lawyers, Nearing 200 Biggest,” Bloomberg Law, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Joins Forces With Bay Area Wendel Rosen,” Yahoo! Finance, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Joins Forces With Bay Area Wendel Rosen,” Benzinga, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Combines With Bay Area Firm Wendel Rosen,” Law360, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Joins Forces With Bay Area Wendel Rosen,” Attorney at Law Magazine, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore, Merging With Wendel Rosen, Fills Out California Footprint,” American Lawyer/Law.com, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Absorbs Third California Law Firm in Past Two Years,” Phoenix Business Journal, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Joins Forces With Bay Area Wendel Rosen,” Businesswire, June 14, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore to Combine With 56-attorney California Law Firm,” Reuters, June 14, 2022
Author, “A How-To Guide For Summer Associates,” Above the Law, June 3, 2022
Author, “Stop Managing Like A Lawyer,” Above the Law, May 20, 2022
Interview by Law 360, “In Their Words: BigLaw Leaders On Why They Merged,” May 18, 2022
Author, “One Bar Admission To Rule Them All?” Above the Law, May 6, 2022
Quoted, “Fennemore Craig CEO On Adding 24 Gresham Savage Attys,” Law360, April 21, 2022
Author, “The Wolf of Biglaw,” Above the Law, March 25, 2022
Author, “’Mo Money Mo Problems’ – 2022 Reprise,” Above the Law, February 25, 2022
Author, “Young Lawyers In Trouble,” Above the Law February 11, 2022
Author, “Talent Tug of War,” Phoenix Business Journal, February 4, 2022
Author, “Are The Stories About Your Law Firm Worth Telling,” Above the Law, January 28, 2022
Author, “The Hidden Factor Undermining Your Firm’s COVID-19 Protocols,” Above the Law, January 14, 2022
Author, “A Lawyer’s ‘Christmas Carol’,” Above the Law, December 17, 2021
Author, “Don’t Let Your Yule Log Burn Out,” Above the Law, December 3, 2021
Author, “My Thanksgiving Objection,” Above the Law, November 19, 2021
Author, “Is Every Company a Tech Company,” inBusiness Greater Phoenix, November 1, 2021
Author, “Sense, Seek, Seize,” Above the Law, October 29, 2021
Author, “LegalZoom Is Coming For Your Lunch,” Above the Law, October 15, 2021
Author, “What Lawyers Can Learn From Preschoolers,” Above the Law, October 1, 2021
Author, “Law Firms, Don’t Throw It All Away,” Above the Law, September 17, 2021
Author, “How The Pandemic Breathed Life Back Into Law Schools,” Above the Law, September 3, 2021
Author, “The Reason I’m Not Tom Cruise,” Above the Law, July 23, 2021
Author, “A Letter to Incoming Associates,” Above the Law, June 4, 2021
Quoted, “Phoenix law firm extends ASU Law scholarship, fellowship program to improve diversity in legal field,” ASU News, June 2, 2021
Quoted, “Arizona State University: Shaping The Future Of Data Privacy, Cybersecurity And Learner Empowerment At ASU’s Digital Trust Summit,” Patch, June 2, 2021
Quoted, “Most Admired Leaders 2021: James Goodnow, Fennemore,” Phoenix Business Journal, May 13, 2021
Quoted, “Talking Trendspotter: Readers Say Business Pros Can Help Law Firms Innovate—but Only If They Have Support From the Top,” Law.com, May 10, 2021
Author, “How to Start Working Backward,” Above the Law, May 7, 2021
Interview, “New rules allow investment in law firms by non-lawyers,” Arizona PBS, May 3, 2021
Interview, “James Goodnow of Fennemore: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a C-Suite Executive,” Authority Magazine, April 26, 2021
Author, “Why Are Lawyers Leaving Money On The Table?” Above the Law, April 9, 2021
Author, “Stop Managing Your Law Firm From Crisis to Crisis,” Above the Law, March 26, 2021
Author, “Profitability 2.0,” Above the Law, March 12, 2021
Quoted, “‘This is the gold rush.’ The buzz about Arizona licenses,” Law.com, March 12, 2021
Quoted, “16 Useful Tips For Safely Reopening Offices,” Forbes, March 10, 2021
Author, The Incredible Shrinking Equity Ranks,” Above the Law, October 4, 2019
Author, “The Guaranteed Marketing Solution®,” Above the Law, September 20, 2019
Quoted, “How Mid-Market Firms Can Actually Use AFAs,” Law.com, September 17, 2019
Author, “The Accidental Ponzi Scheme,” Above the Law, September 6, 2019
Author, “LeClairRyan: Mistiming The End of the Legal Monopoly,” Above the Law, August 23, 2019
Quoted, “How Mid-Market Firms Should Pitch AFAs to Clients – Then Actually Use Them,” Law.com, August 22, 2019
Quoted, “Is the Billable Hour a Double-Edged Sword in Mid-Market Firms?” Law.com, August 15, 2019
Author, “Another One Bites the Dust,” Above the Law, August 9, 2019
Author, “Why My Kids Don’t Want to be Lawyers,” Above the Law, July 26, 2019
Author, “The War on Law Firms,” Above the Law, July 12, 2019
Quoted, “One Size Does Not Fit All: Law Firm Subscription Plans Come In All Shapes and Sizes,” ABA Journal, July 1, 2019
Author, “What Makes A Good Book of Business?” Above the Law, June 28, 2019
Author, “What If Lawyers Ran Amazon?” Above the Law, May 17, 2019
Quoted, “How Big a Threat Are ALSPs to Mid-Market Firms,” Law.com The Mid-Market Report, May 10, 2019
Author, “Why Lawyers Are Obsessed With Rankings,” Above the Law, May 3, 2019
Author, “Put Me In, Coach,” Above the Law, April 5, 2019
Author, “Axiom’s War on Biglaw,” Above the Law, March 8, 2019
Quoted, “Law Firms Hiring CEOs Without Law Degrees Reignites Debate About Turning Over the Reins to Business Professionals,” ABA Journal, March 2019
Presenter, “Leadership in Law,” Brophy College Preparatory, February 28, 2019
Author, “Why Innovation Dies in Law Firms,” Above the Law, February 22, 2019
Author, “Why Reason Isn’t Enough,” Above the Law, February 8, 2019
Quoted, “’Change is a Mantra for Law Firms, But Will They Tune in?” The American Lawyer, January 30, 2019
Author, “Law School Has Failed the Profession,” Above the Law, January 25, 2019
Interview, “Midsize Firms Used the Great Recession to Audition for Big Law’s Work,” The American Lawyer, January 11, 2019
Interview, “2019 Trends to Watch,” AzBusiness Magazine, January/February 2019
Interview, “Law Firm Leaders Speak,” Law 360, December 19, 2018
Author, “Getting It Right When We Get It Wrong,” Above the Law, December 14, 2018
Author, “Dictators and Democracy in Biglaw,” Above the Law, November 30, 2018
Interview, “Pop Quiz, Monday with James Goodnow, President and Managing Partner at Fennemore Craig,” Medium, November 5, 2018
Author, “Burnout, Flame Out, or Timeout?” Above the Law, November 2, 2018
Interview, “All About the Client: James Goodnow of Fennemore Craig, P.C.,” Hire an Esquire, November 2018
Author, “Will This Become Biglaw’s App Store?” Above the Law, October 19, 2018
Author, “Back to BigLaw’s Future,” Above the Law, October 5, 2018
Interview, “Most Influential Phoenicians,” AZ Foothills Magazine, October 2018
Author, “Dropping a Bomb on the Legal Monopoly,” Above the Law, September 21, 2018
Author, “The Reverse Golden Rule,” Above the Law, September 7, 2018
Author, “When VC Meets JD,” Above the Law, August 24, 2018
Quoted, “Small Firm Struggles Make for Midsize Firm Growth,” Law.com, August 23, 2018
Interview, “Managing a Multigenerational Law Firm,” Practical Law Journal, August/September 2018
Author, “Biglaw is Turning Associates Into George Costanzas,” Above the Law, August 10, 2018
Quoted, “The Big Four Threat is Real. Are You Ready?” Law.com, August 3, 2018
Author, “Law Potion #9,” Above the Law, June 29, 2018
Author, “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” Above the Law, June 15, 2018
Speaker, 2018 Legal Executive Forum, Thompson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, New York, New York, June 7, 2018
Author, “A Crisis of Confidence in Law Firms,” Above the Law, June 1, 2018
Quoted, “40 Under 40,” Phoenix Magazine, June 2018
Author, “In Defense of More Sizzle, Less Steak” Above the Law, May 18, 2018
Author, “(Don’t Just) Show Me the Money!” Above the Law, May 4, 2018
Interview, “James Goodnow Breaks Ground as Millennial Leader in Law,” AZ Big Media, April 27, 2018
Interview, “Employers Say Accommodating Millennials is a Business Imperative,” SHRM, April 26, 2018
Author, “A Letter to an Incoming Associate,” Above the Law, April 20, 2018
Author, “Moneyball Meets Attorney Recruitment,” Above the Law, April 6, 2018
Interview, “Career Advice with James Goodnow, Managing Partner, Fennemore Craig,” LawJobs.com, March 26, 2018
Author, “Blinded by the Benjamin’s?,” Above the Law, March 23, 2018
Author, “Being John Quinn,” Above the Law, March 9, 2018
Interview, “Exclusive: Tech-minded Millennial Named Big Law Firm CEO After Starting as File Clerk,” Phoenix Business Journal, March 7, 2018
Quoted, “The Millennial Who is Now Running an NLJ 500 Firm,” The American Lawyer, March 2, 2018
Author, “The Most Important Law Firm You’ve Never Heard Of,” Above the Law, February 23, 2018
Author, “Why Are You a Lawyer, And Why Are You Here?” Above the Law, February 9, 2018
Author, “Changing the Face of Law,” Above the Law, January 12, 2018
Author, “Smash or Be Smashed,” Attorney at Law, January 2018
Author, “The ‘Culture Card’ In Law Firms,” Above the Law, December 15, 2017
Author, “Sedgwick: Death by Billable Hours,” Above the Law, December 1, 2017
Interview, “The Next Frontier for Virtual Reality: Courtrooms,” Bloomberg Law, November 18, 2017
Author, “Biglaw’s Blockbuster Moment,” Above the Law, November 2017
Quoted, “Millennials Won’t Destroy Your Law Firm. Can They Save It?” The American Lawyer, October 23, 2017
Author, “Saving Biglaw,” Above the Law, October 6, 2017
Interviewed, “Millennials Take Dynamite to Boardroom Myths About Their Generation,” Yahoo Finance, June 15, 2017
Quoted, “Has the American Dream Changed?” Builder, June 13, 2017
Quoted, “What You Can Learn From Comey-Trump Memo: ‘It’s Something Taught in Law School’,” Phoenix Business Journal, May 18, 2017
Quoted, “Millennial Employees Are a Lot More Loyal Than Their Job-hopping Stereotype,” CNBC, May 10, 2017
Quoted, “How to Prevent Millennials From Burning Out at Work,” CIO, August 10, 2016
Quoted, “How to Avoid the Worst Seat on the Plane This Summer,” The Washington Post, July 8, 2016
Interview, “Net Neutrality,” Arizona Horizon, June 2016
Quoted, “Brexit Vote’s Effect Unclear on Arizona Economy, But Some Impact Expected,” KTAR News, June 24, 2016
Interview, “Arizona Coyotes Threaten to Leave…Again,” Sunday Square Off, March 12, 2016
Co-Author, “Arizona Tort Law Handbook,” State Bar of Arizona
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Member, State Bar of Arizona
Chair, Board of Directors, National Kidney Foundation of Arizona
Member, Board of Directors, Make-A-Wish® Arizona
Former Judge Pro Tempore, Maricopa County Superior Court
Former Member, Board of Directors, Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired