James L Walker Jr. Esq. is a nationally recognized entertainment attorney whose practice sits at the intersection of television, film, theatre, and music. As founder of Walker and Associates, LLC, a leading entertainment and media law firm in the Greater Atlanta area, he has counseled more than 1,000 clients — including television and film talent, recording artists, producers, filmmakers, athletes, and media companies — on entertainment transactions, television and streaming contracts, intellectual property, litigation, and corporate matters.

Television & Film

Attorney Walker's clients have been featured on every major network and platform, including Netflix, Hulu, ABC, CBS, NBC, BET, TVOne, and ALLBLK. His television work spans some of the most-watched franchises in unscripted and scripted programming, including The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Potomac, Growing Up Hip Hop, Growing Up Gospel, Basketball Wives, Power, Sistas, and All the Queens Men, as well as clients on American Idol, BET's Sunday Best, and The Four. He has worked with a wide range of screen and music talent, including Candace Dillard Bassett, Jamie Foxx, Soledad O'Brien, Naturi Naughton, Skyh Black, KJ Smith, Aretha Franklin, DMX, Kerry Gordy, K Camp, Take 6, Koryn Hawthorne, Miki Howard, Keke Wyatt, Shirley Caesar, Pinky Cole, and many others.

Walker also serves as a Board Member and General Counsel of the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta, one of the nation's premier festivals celebrating filmmakers of color. He was also Chairman of the Board for the Gospel Stellar Awards and saw it expand extensively under his vision.

Theatre & Broadway

On the theatrical side, Walker is an investor and member of the producing team with Alia Jones-Harvey and Stephen Byrd of Front Row Productions in New York. His producing credits include MJ The Musical, The Piano Lesson, Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cabaret, Camelot, Alicia Keys' 13-time Tony Award-nominated Hell's Kitchen, and, in Europe, Sinatra: I Did It My Way. He is also a co-owner of the Museum of Broadway in Times Square.

Landmark Entertainment Litigation

Walker has handled over 50 of the most high-profile rights disputes in the entertainment industry. He recently represented Isaac Hayes III in Hayes v. Trump, successfully securing an injunction against the former President for the unauthorized use of "Hold On, I'm Coming" — resolving a major copyright infringement case against Donald Trump and the Trump Campaign over the music of the late icon Isaac Hayes. He also won the Take 6 v. H.E.R. settlement in the Southern District of New York and settled a dispute with Jay-Z over the "Family Affair" song, securing his client Twinkie Clark ownership of half the composition.

Mentorship & Thought Leadership

Committed to developing the next generation of entertainment lawyers and creatives, Walker runs an internship program for law students and has taught and worked with students at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, UConn School of Law, Boston College Law School, George Washington University, the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, and the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music. He is the author of This Business of Urban Music, a leading guide for young entertainment lawyers and musicians navigating the industry. He is currently preparing to teach Entertainment Law at Emory Law School in Atlanta in fall 2026.

Personal

While proud of his career and ongoing philanthropy, Attorney Walker is most proud of his four children: Jordan, 33, a licensed real estate agent in the Washington, D.C. area; James III, 31, and Joi, 26, both practicing attorneys in New York City; and Zion, 23, a baseball assistant Head Coach at Eastern Connecticut State University and real estate owner with brother JW3 in several states.

Walker is a member of the Eagles Nest Church in Atlanta, GA, where he has taught Sunday School and advised the church legally. When traveling back home to Connecticut, he is an affiliated member of the Cornerstone Christian Center Church, where he recently sponsored the Storage House Food Pantry, helping feed thousands annually.