James E. Blatt

James E. Blatt, Esq.

California State Bar Member Since 1973

Attorney James Blatt grew up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He had two significant influences in his life, his mother, Lillian Blatt, and the town in which he grew up. Both have contributed greatly to the development of his successful legal career. His mother Lillian Blatt taught him to stand up for what he believed in, to be tough, determined but caring, and always stressed a deep loyalty to family. As for the influence of his home town, Punxsutawney, PA, the benefit lay in his observance of the limited opportunity there. The hardships and hard times he witnessed only motivated him to achieve great goals within his lifetime.

Attorney James E. Blatt often refers to a phrase that has been ingrained in him since high school: “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins”. Mr. Blatt was committed to making a better life for himself than the one in which he was raised. He wanted to become a lawyer. At the age of 17, Mr. Blatt headed to Los Angeles to start a new life. When people comment on how hard it is to practice law successfully in Los Angeles, or anywhere for that matter, Attorney James E. Blatt always replies that it is nothing compared to life working in a coal mine. He keeps a large chunk of coal under glass at his office as a constant reminder. As a self-made man, he worked while attending college at UCLA and then Loyola Law School, earning his JD in only 3 years of a 4 year night school program. He was the youngest in his class, graduating at the age of 23.

Asked why he chose law as a career, Mr. Blatt says without hesitation, “I wanted to help people”. But he adds that the “risk factor” inherent in the legal profession was also a draw; not surprising for someone raised in an environment that espoused challenges being met with nothing less than a winner’s attitude.

At 20, Mr. Blatt worked at the DA’s offices in the PR division and, while in law school, became summer clerk and senior clerk. Upon passing the bar exam in 1973, he joined the D.A.’s office as a deputy, where he stayed for almost 3 years. During one year as a DA, attorney James E. Blatt, along with two colleagues tried 93 cases, winning all but 3.

With his strong work ethic and will to succeed, attorney James E. Blatt found little difficulty finding clients after he left the DA’s office. Mr. Blatt is committed to helping individuals in need of a hard-hitting criminal defense attorney throughout California. He has been practicing law for over 35 years.

An attempted murder prosecution, this case is commonly referred to as the “Vigilante Case.” This prosecution involved a defendant who shot a drug dealer in the back. Jim presented a “defense of neighborhood” defense...
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Jim avoided state prison for his client, who was allegedly involved with several others in million dollar real estate investment fraud schemes. After investigation and research, Jim discovered that the “key” witness against...
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The case was argued and won before the United States Supreme Court. In this case the Supreme Court established for the first time in our nation’s history, a standard for applying the 8th Amendment’s...
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Mr. Blatt was able to convince prosecutors in this Bellflower case to dismiss charges against his client, Marin Gomez, who was charged, along with two other co-defendants, with three counts of carjacking...
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Jim negotiated a “time-served” disposition for a defendant accused of numerous counts of attempted murder against police officers. The charges arose from a lengthy, high speed pursuit of Mr. Castleberry and his co-defendant, who...
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