Meet James

James Fucetola was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in the nearby historic city of Annapolis, Maryland.  James, the middle of three boys, takes great pride in his familial roots.  Indeed, James was taught the lessons of sacrifice and hard work by his father, who worked for the National Security Agency in a top-secret capacity, and his mother, perhaps the smartest person James knows, who sacrificed other passions to be a homemaker.

James is equally proud of his two brothers, one of whom is a nationally-renowned neuropsychologist, while the other is an attorney with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.  However, James’ greatest sense of pride derives from his kids, the two coolest humans he knows.

Upon graduating from Severna Park High School, James attended Seattle University, an elite Jesuit university, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team.  He then returned home to attend the University of Baltimore School of Law.  There, in recognition of his legal writing ability, James was the recipient of a prestigious appointment to serve as an editor of a law journal.

Upon graduating from law school in 1998, James returned to Seattle, where he served the citizens of Washington as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.  As a prosecutor, James learned the art of trying cases, trying dozens of serious criminal cases and being quickly recognized as one of the top young trial attorneys in the Seattle area.

In 2003, James was heavily recruited to switch careers to defend injury and insurance cases. After making the switch, James developed a niche for aggressively fighting contrived injury and fraudulent claims, forcing opposing parties to try their meritless claims to juries, which resulted in James achieving win after win at trial.   In conjunction with these courtroom victories, James quickly ascended to a position in which he was in charge of managing and teaching other attorneys the art of trial advocacy.

In 2012, James met Brett Slavicek in a case involving their respective offices.  It was during this case that James and Brett came to understand each other’s elite lawyering abilities.  As a result, shortly thereafter, James decided to team up with Brett and join The Slavicek Law Firm, where he has proudly practiced since.

James has tried over 80 cases and has served as a Judge Pro Tempore. He has traveled the country teaching trial advocacy, deposition taking and other litigation skills to other attorneys nationwide.  James is admitted to practice in Arizona, Washington and Oregon.

James resides in North Scottsdale with his two kids and enormous Great Dane. Outside of work, James enjoys hiking, trail running, snowboarding, riding his beloved Ducati motorcycle and, most rewarding, watching his kids flourish in theatre and hockey.