James P. Watkins

James Watkins is Global Leader of Evidence Presentation & Technology for FTI Consulting’s Trial & Arbitration Support practice and has consulted on well over 300 cases. Mr. Watkins’s expertise includes presentation technology, communication design, remote virtual proceedings, litigation software implementation/training, project management, e-discovery and multimedia production.

Mr. Watkins has more than 30 years of experience in the information technology industry. He consults with clients to recommend strategic and appropriate technology and design solutions for even the most complex scenarios. Mr. Watkins has assisted legal teams and their witnesses in the presentation of persuasive visuals and the effective utilization of technology. His extensive courtroom experience has included supporting clients in every manner of legal proceedings, such as jury trials, mock exercises, bench trials, Markman hearings, summary judgement hearings, class-certification hearings, international arbitrations and mediations. He has presented at numerous Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) events and industry forums and has worked on matters in U.S. Federal and State courts, the International Trade Commission (“ITC”), as well as internationally in Europe, the Middle East and Asia on diverse cases such as intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance, entertainment, commercial and trade secret matters.

Over the years, Mr. Watkins has consulted with many of today’s largest and most innovative companies such as Apple, Inc.; Amazon, Inc.; Facebook, Inc.; Samsung Technology, Inc.; Pandora Media, Inc.; Novartis AG; Novo Nordisk; Siemens AG; Pfizer, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline PLC; and AstraZeneca AB, among others.

Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Watkins held several positions at TrialGraphix, leading to Partner/Director. While there, he led the creation and launch of TrialGraphix's remote trial hosting platform including creating the operation guides, training plans, marketing and sales efforts. As Director of Trial Technology, he managed the company's multimedia production department, e-brief and technology equipment groups. He also oversaw all aspects of trial technology production to include database creation and management, data conversion and processing, imaging/coding/document management, e-discovery, video production services as well as budgeting, hiring and third-party vendor contracts.

Mr. Watkins also served 20 years in the U.S. military; both active duty and the reserves. His military career saw participation in numerous leadership and technical schools as well as several international duty stations and deployments including the United Kingdom, Germany, Bosnia and Kosovo.