The Honorable Teresa J. James was appointed on January 16, 2014 as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas in Kansas City.  Judge James received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in 1981 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas in 1984.  Following graduation, Judge James was in private practice in Wichita until she joined the Overland Park office of Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, LLP in 2003.  At Martin Pringle, Judge James was a partner, served a term as managing partner of the Kansas City Office, and specialized in Energy, Oil and Gas, Condemnation and Complex Litigation.  Prior to going on the Bench, Judge James served on the board of the Kansas Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, on the Bench-Bar Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and on the Kansas Appleseed Foundation Board.  She is a Fellow of the Kansas Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation. Judge James is a Past President of the Earl E. O’Connor Inn of Court, for which she organized a group trip to England including a visit to the English Middle Temple Inn and a week of sightseeing in and around London. Judge James is also a Past President of the Kansas and Western District of Missouri Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She is passionate about Civics education for students and is actively engaged in the FBA – Federal Court Constitution Day project that organizes public readings of the U.S. Constitution at the three District of Kansas Federal courthouses on Constitution Day, as well as efforts to connect lawyers and judges with schools to present Civics programs. Judge James continues to be actively involved in the Inn of Court and FBA and to serve on the Bench-Bar Committee.

Judge James retired March 17, 2026, and was recalled to serve as Magistrate Judge on March 18, 2026.