James E. Cross

James E. Cross is a sole practitioner with Cross Law Firm, P.L.C. in Phoenix. He settled in the Phoenix area in 1980 after honorably serving as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air NationalGuard. In January 2012, he left his position as chair of the Bankruptcy Department at the Phoenix law firm of Osborn Maledon, PA, and later established Cross Law Firm, PLC. Simultaneously, he founded a business restructuring firm that focuses on troubled loans, receiverships and related non-legal matters.Mr. Cross is admitted to practice in Arizona and Texas, and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been certified asa Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization since 1989. In February2020, Mr. Cross was appointed by the Office of the U.S. Trustee as a Subchapter V Pool Trustee, the first subchapter V trustee to be appointed in the state of Arizona, and among the first in the nation. He also is in the pool serving the state of New Mexico. Mr. Cross has practiced bankruptcy law at several successful law firms in Phoenix. He has represented debtors, creditors, committees (equity and unsecured),trustees, asset-purchasers and virtually every other party appearing in bankruptcy proceedings. He also has served as a court-appointed examiner, trustee and mediator. Mr. Cross is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell in the areas of bankruptcy and insolvency practice. His firm has been repeatedly recognized among the “Best Law Firms in America” by U.S. News and World Report, and he has been nominated by his peers in Super Lawyers magazine for the past several years. For the past 30 years, he has appeared in nearly all of the region’s high-profile bankruptcies, including America West Airlines, Circle K Corp.,the Phoenix Coyotes Hockey Club, Mortgages, Ltd., Danny’s Family Car Wash, Inc. and Bashas’, Inc.Mr. Cross received his B.A. cum laude in international business from The Ohio State University in 1980and his J.D. from the Sandra Day O’ Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in May 1983.