James Hornstein - Boston, MA

James began his legal career in 1985 as an associate in the civil liability department a large, well established defense firm. He then resigned to continue a family tradition of service in the military. He accepted a direct commission into the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He served on Active duty as a Trial Counsel and then as the Claims Judge Advocate from 1986 through 1989. He then returned to the same law firm and began his career as a workers’ compensation associate. Concomitantly with rejoining the civilian practice, he accepted a commission in the Rhode Island National Guard as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He served as a Brigade Judge Advocate and was subsequently certified by the U.S Army Judge Advocate General’s School as a General Courts-Martials Judge and promoted to Colonel He thereafter was promoted to the statutory position of The State Judge Advocate, where he was responsible for all Judge Advocates in the State of Rhode Island, where he served until retiring in 2007. James served as the Managing Partner of the Workers’ Compensation Department of his former firm from 2000 through 2020 when he joined TKCK. He has represented employers, insurers and self-insureds in hundreds of matters involving death claims, occupational injury , traumatic injury and apportionment claims. He also brought the first claim which invoked the new statutory authority of the Workers’ Compensation Court to settle disputes between insurers in a case that was finally resolved in favor of the employer, who initiated the action, by the RI Supreme Court. He has practiced in Rhode island at the Workers’ Compensation Court, the Department of Industrial Accidents in Massachusetts, and before Administrative Law Judges at the US Department of Labor under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

He and fellow TKCK partner Courtney Manchester, co-wrote and edited the 2nd Edition of the MCLE Manuel on Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Chapter “Practice and Procedure; the Employer Perspective” detailing the best trial practices that should be followed I by defense counsel in the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court.