James O. Payne Jr. serves as Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overseeing counseling and defensive litigation across the environmental laws and overseeing ethics. His other senior roles at EPA include leading a regional office and, in 2025, serving as EPA’s Acting Administrator and Acting General Counsel. Prior to EPA, he served as Deputy General Counsel for the US Patent and Trademark Office, overseeing counseling and defensive litigation. He previously served as Senior Counsel at the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Environment and Natural Resources Division, and at the Ohio Attorney General Office (Ohio AGO), Environmental Enforcement Section. He also served as an attorney at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. At DOJ, his nine outstanding attorney awards include the US Attorney General Award for Excellence for leading cross-government training of federal attorneys in developing knowledge and skills for e-discovery. They also include awards for leading the federal interagency legal support for responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil and Fukushima nuclear incidents. While at the Ohio AGO, he received the Marvin Award for excellence, from the National Association of Attorneys General. Professor Payne received his AB in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and his JD from The Ohio State University, where he cofounded the American Bar Association’s Journal on Dispute Resolution.