James Rooney is the First Administrative Magistrate at the Division of Administrative Law Appeals. He's been at DALA since 2004. Prior to that, he was an Administrative Magistrate at the Department of Environmental Protection for 10 years. He began his career as a Law Clerk to Justice Stanley Mosk of the California Supreme Court, and then was an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn. Later, he practiced at a large civil practice firm in San Francisco and a medium size firm in Boston called Roche, Carens and DeGiacomo.

Rooney describes clerking as being one of the most influential times in his career thus far. Being able to see a wide range of lawyering gave him an idea of what to shoot for in law practice. He also fondly recalls working with his then supervisor, who he recounts as an excellent writer who helped him sharpen his skills.