James Rehnquist

Professor Rehnquist was a practicing trial lawyer in the Boston are for many years, both as an associate and partner at Goodwin Procter and also as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District Massachusetts. As an AUSA he Investigated and prosecuted cases in both the Economic Crimes and Organized Crime Strike Force Units, including fraud, tax, public corruption, trademark and racketeering cases.

In private practice he specialized in both complex civil litigation and white collar criminal defense. He represented individuals and organizations in numerous federal and state court criminal and civil trials in subject matter areas such as mail fraud, racketeering, securities fraud, tax, tort and trademark.

His pro bono practice centered on criminal defense, a highlight of which was leading a team of Goodwin associates and Harvard Law School students in filing clemency petitions, 12 of which were granted by President Obama.

Prior to coming to Suffolk, Professor Rehnquist was a full-time professor for two years at New England School of Law. He also taught a course in Federal Criminal Justice as an adjunct for several years at Boston University School of Law.

Education

Boston University School of Law, J.D.
Amherst College, B.A.

Publications

• A Hundred-Year Hangover: The Criminal Procedure Legacy of Prohibition, 77 S. Car. L. Rev. ___ (2026)
• Criminal Procedure and Racial Injustice (Aspen) (2024) (casebook co-authored with Professor Tracey Maclin)
• White Collar Crime: Prosecution and Defense (Aspen) (casebook forthcoming 2027) (co-author Justin Weitz)
• Taking Comity Seriously: How to Neutralize the Abstention Doctrine, 46 Stan. L. Rev. 1049 (1994).
• Sound Bar: A Goodwin Podcast on White Collar Criminal Defense (2019-2020) (hosted podcast)
• Contributor, The Trial of Anthony Burns, in Legal Chowder: Lawyering and Judging in Massachusetts (MCLE 2002; Hon. Rudolph Kass, ed.)

Awards & Honors

• Editor-in chief, Boston University Law Review
• Dr. John Ordronaux Prize, awarded to BULS graduate with exemplary academic performance and leadership
• Clerkship, First Circuit Court of Appeals (Hon. Levin Campbell)
• Annually recognized as one of Massachusetts’ leading white collar crime lawyers. Per Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, a “great trial lawyer and super jury-friendly.”