James Blair is the Counsel for Employment Law at the U.S . Department of Labor. He received his undergraduate degree from Long Island University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Following graduation, he clerked for an administrative law judge at the Department of Labor, researching and drafting opinions under a variety of statutes, including those dealing with workers' compensation, job training and immigration. He was then an associate in the Labor Law Section of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he represented management in litigation, arbitrations and representational elections.

In 1990, he joined the Office of the Solicitor at the Department of Labor, where he litigated cases under laws dealing with workplace safety, minimum wage and overtime and migrant worker protection. Since 1998, he has worked in the division of the Solicitor's Office responsible for overseeing labor relations between the Department and its employees.