James Chao

James Chao is an Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP since June 2025, previously serving as an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis from September 2022 to June 2025 and as a Law Clerk at Talkov Law Corp. from May 2021 to April 2022. At Talkov Law Corp., responsibilities included drafting and filing various legal documents and assisting lead counsel during motion hearings. James gained experience as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Nathanael Cousins at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, where research and analysis on complex legal issues were key tasks. Earlier academic pursuits included serving as a Research Assistant to Professor Gary Richardson at UC Irvine, focusing on the effects of monetary policy during the Great Depression. James Chao holds a Doctor of Law (JD) from USC Gould School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics from UC Irvine.