Honors and Awards: "For extraordinary efforts to defend the rights of defendants and to insure due process and justice for all.", Justice for All Award from Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, CDAM, 2006

Special Licenses/Certifications: Recognized in several courts as an expert on ineffective assistance of counsel.

Bar/Professional Activity: Jim Samuels is a trial attorney with over 25 years of courtroom experience.  He served as the elected Prosecuting Attorney in Mecosta County for 12 years and also served on the Board of Directors for the Prosecuting Attorney's Association of Michigan.  He taught advanced trial practice to prosecutors throughout the state. After returning to private practice in 1996, Jim Samuels focused the majority of his practice on criminal defense.  He's been recognized by other criminal lawyers around Michigan for his trial skills in criminal cases.  He is on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorneys Trial College and provides training for other criminal defense attorneys.  He serves as the Vice-President of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and is the Chairman of the Thomas M. Cooley Innocence Project Commission.   Jim Samuels has written and published on the topic of false confession and also on issues related to confessions by the mentally retarded.  He is currently promoting legislation that would require law enforcement to record interrogation and is working within the criminal justice system to implement reforms on eyewitness identification.  Mr. Samuels is Vice-President of Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and was appointed to the State Bar of Michigan's Task Force for recording interrogations. He received the prestigeous 2006 Justice for All Award from the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan  for exceptional dedication and service to the cause of justice.

Scholarly Lectures and Writings: A review of the sex offender residency requirements from around the country as well as a discusion of the problems asociated with the various regulations, Author, Sex offender residence restrictions: Or how hysteria compels the government to kill mosquitoes with shotguns, State Appellate Defenders Office, 2007, James Samuels has lectured at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan regional seminars on topics ranging from Closing Argument, to the alibi defense.  He co-teaches a day long seminar for new attorneys entitled "A is For Attorney", a practical nuts and bolts series for the new attorney.  He is also a regular faculty member of the CDAM Trial College.

Verdicts and Settlements: