James Mixon

Academic Profile

James Mixon is an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School. Professor Mixon's work explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, judicial processes, and legal ethics—preparing future lawyers for practice in an increasingly digital landscape.

Professor Mixon currently serves as Managing Attorney at the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, where he supervises Central Staff Attorneys in drafting and refining judicial opinions. His distinctive background provides students with rare insights into how technology is transforming litigation and appellate practice.

Area of Expertise & Professional Experience

• Legal Technology and Artificial Intelligence
• Appellate Advocacy and Opinion Writing
• Judicial Ethics and Decision-Making
• Classical Legal Traditions and Modern Jurisprudence

Professor Mixon has extensive experience in California's judicial system, serving as Senior Appellate Court Attorney and Managing Attorney at the Court of Appeal, and previously as Supervising Research Attorney at Los Angeles Superior Court. Throughout his career, he has drafted thousands of bench memoranda and judicial opinions across criminal, dependency, and civil matters.

As a judicial AI consultant, Professor Mixon leads initiatives implementing AI-assisted drafting tools for appellate courts and serves on the judicial branch AI Task Force. His pioneering work developing ethical guidelines for AI use in legal practice positions him at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field.

Teaching and Scholarship

Professor Mixon's teaching philosophy connects classical traditions with cutting-edge technology. Drawing on his experience as an instructor at UCLA, where he taught Latin and Ancient Political Theory, he helps students understand how enduring legal principles adapt to technological change. His innovative curriculum development includes specialized training programs on ethical judicial decision-making and technology integration in legal practice.

Recent work includes:

Publications:

• "Daedalus Doctrine," California Litigation, California Lawyers Association, forthcoming Vol. 2 (2025)
• "From Felines to Digital Doppelgangers," Daily Journal (May 2, 2025)
• "What AI Learns from Us," Daily Journal, forthcoming (2025)
• "Beyond Efficiency," Daily Journal (April 7, 2025)
• "Invisible Co-Judge," Daily Journal (April 4, 2025)

Selected Presentations:

• "AI in Legal Practice," Rutter Employment Law Institute (2025)
• "Leveling up Practice with AI," Consumer Attorneys of California Conference (2025)
• "Best Practices for AI," Appellate Judicial Attorney's Institute (2024)
• "AI and the Courts," California Judicial Education and Research Webinar, Moderator (2023)

Current Projects

Professor Mixon is currently developing ethical frameworks for AI implementation in judicial systems, with particular focus on issues of transparency, bias mitigation, and maintaining human judgment in technology-assisted legal reasoning.