James Bach received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1975 and his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in 1979. He has been working with immigration cases since 1978, and has lectured extensively and written articles and books on immigration law. He has been a Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) continuously since 1980, and currently is the moderator of its Legal Ethics forum. In 1989, Mr. Bach was one of the first lawyers certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law (less than 8% of California immigration attorneys are Board Certified by the State Bar). Mr. Bach has been given the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell for ability and ethics for over a decade, and is included in the current Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. From 1987 to 1990, Mr. Bach was the head of the Immigration Law Department of Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (now Reed Smith), one of California’s largest and most prestigious law firms. Mr. Bach has litigated immigration matters in the U.S. federal courts, and before administrative tribunals such as the Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals, and the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office. From 2008 to 2013 he served on the State Bar's Immigration and Nationality Advisory Commission, and was its Chairperson from 2011 to 2012. In that position, he helped write and grade the biannual California Immigration and Nationality Specialty Examination. He was a Member of the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California, which administers all of the State Bar certified legal specialties in California, including immigration law. Mr. Bach has been an Arbitrator for the San Francisco Bar Association since 2008, and has written articles and given lectures on legal ethics, with a primary focus on the obligations attorneys have to their clients.
Mr. Bach's books include The HR Manager's Guide To Immigration Law (2011) and How To Secure Your H-1B Visa (2013). His lectures -- "Immigration Opportunities for the World's Top Athletes, Artists, Performers and Scientists" and "Avoiding Liability in H-1B Cases" -- have been accepted by the California State Bar for providing specialty education credits to immigration attorneys. Other MCLE*-approved lectures have included "The Essentials of Family-Based Immigration", "Social Security Administration No-Match Letters", and "Immigration Solutions for Engineers and Scientists." Mr. Bach was a speaker at the AILA national convention in Boston in 2014.
Mr. Bach's nonprofessional interests include mountain biking, swimming, hiking, literature, and ancient history. He and his wife Sharon have three adult children and celebrate their 28th anniversary this year.
Mr. Bach is licensed to practice law in California and Hawai'i, but federal laws allow him to represent clients in immigration matters in all 50 states; and he has clients throughout the United States. With email and overnight courier service, Mr. Bach can represent a client in New York or Dallas as efficiently and effectively as he represents the firm's Silicon Valley clients.