Chidi James represents people and families in serious personal-injury and wrongful-death cases, including product-liability claims, commercial-vehicle crashes, inadequate-security cases, and other catastrophic-injury matters.
His recent work includes a $14 million settlement for victims of sexual assault at a child-care center, a $9 million settlement arising from the University of Virginia shooting cases, a $5.4 million wrongful-death settlement following a high-speed crash, and a $4.4 million verdict in a commercial-vehicle case.
Chidi has been with Blankingship & Keith since 2003. Before joining the firm, he clerked for the judges of the Arlington County Circuit Court. He also served for 25 years in the Air National Guard, retiring in 2022.
He has been deeply involved in the legal profession throughout his career. Chidi is a former president of the Virginia State Bar and has held leadership roles with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the Old Dominion Bar Association Foundation, the Fairfax Law Foundation, and the Northern Virginia Black Attorneys Association.
He has also served on Virginia State Bar disciplinary committees, taught professionalism courses for lawyers, coached trial-advocacy and mock-trial teams, and supported legal-aid and community organizations throughout Northern Virginia.
Chidi’s work has been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Washingtonian, Virginia Business, Forbes, and Northern Virginia Magazine. Washingtonian has named him a Lifetime Lawyer, and he has held an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell since 2013.