Coughlin Stoia Mourns the Loss of
Partner James D. McNamara III
1972 - 2008

Coughlin Stoia mourns the passing of our highly-respected partner, James D. McNamara III. Jim died on Friday, August 1, 2008, due to complications from a lung transplant surgery. Jim was surrounded by his family at UCSD Medical Center in San Diego, California, at the time of his passing. He was 36-years old.

Jim battled cystic fibrosis throughout his life. Cystic fibrosis is a progressive inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of 70,000 children and adults worldwide. “Jim fought the disease with tenacity the likes of which many of us have never seen before. Jim was told from a very young age he would not live to his twenties with the disease. But with the determination and strength which he always displayed, he lived much longer,” said founding partner John J. Stoia, Jr.

In spite of his unrelenting disease, Jim capably met the demands of high-stakes complex litigation, working long hours and rising steadily in the ranks of Coughlin Stoia to become partner in 2007. At the firm, Jim specialized in consumer, insurance, and financial fraud class actions against Fortune 500 companies. He won a hard-fought race discrimination case against the Life Insurance Company of Georgia, culminating in a $55 million settlement for overcharging African-Americans in the sale of “burial” insurance. Jim also represented the California Department of Insurance (“DOI”) in a case against the top five employee benefits insurers in California and the now-defunct broker Universal Life Resources, helping to pave the way to end the pervasive industry practice of contingent commissions – kickbacks paid by insurers to insurance brokers for steering business their way.

In his law practice, Jim portrayed the same tenacity and strength of character as he did in his battle against cystic fibrosis. “Jim was an outstanding lawyer and possessed a work ethic and love for doing what was right for his clients at all times. His actions always spoke louder than his words and we always liked to say that Jim wrote the best letters to the bad guys,” said John Stoia. “He was an awesome man who touched every person he came in contact with and we will miss him deeply.”

Indeed, in the days following his passing, defense counsel who litigated against Jim recognized his excellence in lawyering. “[Jim] was an honorable and skilled advocate,” wrote one attorney who represented an insurer in the case brought by the DOI. Another attorney aptly described Jim as “dedicated to the cause and a real gentleman. . . . Although a great loss, we are all the better for having worked with him.”

Jim was born February 12, 1972, in Poughkeepsie, New York. Jim obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of San Diego in 1994. Jim earned his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1997.

Jim is survived by his devoted wife Jacqueline McNamara, mother and father James McNamara and Alicia Dewar McNamara, brother Stephen and his wife Donna, grandmother Alice Dewar, uncle and aunt John and Joan McNamara, and many other caring aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. The family requests that memorials be made to the James McNamara Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo Bank, account number 2093955702.