SAN JOSE, June 13, 2019 – McManis Faulkner Founder and Partner James McManis has been honored with the Berkeley Law 2019 Citation Award.
Created in 1961, the Citation Award recognizes Berkeley Law graduates who have made exceptional contributions to the school, the Bar, the Bench, legal scholarship, the state, the nation, and the world. Honorees of the school’s most prestigious award are nominated by members of the Berkeley Law community and go through a review process before they are selected by the Dean. Past recipients include Earl Warren, Roger Traynor, Dean Rusk, Bernard Witkin, and John Doar.
McManis was honored at the Citation Award Celebration on June 13. “It’s an honor to receive this award from my alma mater. To be recognized among the countless eligible Berkeley Law alums– many of whom have made tremendous contributions to the legal profession – is truly humbling,” said McManis.
For his entire career, Jim has fought for civil rights, striving to improve access to justice for all people and to protect the rights of citizens from arbitrary actions by the government. He originally tried criminal cases with the District Attorney’s office before leaving to start his own firm. One of McManis’ recent notable wins is the landmark California Supreme Court decision in Smith v. City of San Jose. The case set a statewide precedent for records disclosure for all public entities in California. In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court held that government emails and texts sent on private devices are public records. McManis was also honored for obtaining the historic ruling in Ibrahim v. Department of Homeland Security. In this first successful challenge to a Government 9/11 watch list, McManis successfully represented Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim, who was erroneously placed on the U.S. Government’s no-fly list. After eight years of procedural wrangling, McManis and his team took on the federal government in a week-long bench trial, after which the judge ordered Dr. Ibrahim’s name cleared.
A seasoned trial lawyer and member of the bar for over 50 years, McManis handles cases in the commercial, trade secrets and intellectual property arenas. He also represents individuals in a wide variety of other matters, including civil rights actions, employment disputes, family law, and criminal defense. McManis is an honorary bencher of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, the oldest institution of legal education in Ireland. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Academy of Court Appointed Masters, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Litigation Counsel of America, the American Bar Foundation and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. McManis received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (1967) and his B.A. in History, with Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University (1964).
