James was admitted as a solicitor in 1987, having completed a year in 1986 as associate to the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, The Honourable DG Andrews. In his early years, he gained experience in a wide range of areas but quickly settled into litigation. By 1990, he was established as a commercial litigation lawyer with a keen interest in insolvency matters. He established James Conomos Lawyers on 1 July 1992 as a specialist practice in commercial litigation and insolvency.

Since 1990, he has practised as a solicitor primarily in commercial litigation, dispute resolution and insolvency matters. James has acted in and advised various parties in many insolvency administrations, both corporate and individual. He has advised a range of clients including financiers, insolvency practitioners, creditors and regulators.

James has also acted in hundreds of litigious matters, in a range of disputes from land valuation, contract disputes, breaches of fiduciary duties, fraud claims, building disputes and debt claims. He has acted in all courts throughout Australia. He has represented his clients in many cases, some of which have changed the law of provided positive results including:

- Marshall v Director-General, Department of Transport (2001) 205 CLR 603
- Voss v Suncorp-Metway Limited (No 2) [2004] 1 Qd R 214
- Macquarie Bank Ltd v Lin (2005) QSC 221

James also has considerable experience in asset structuring, corporate and commercial matters including advising directors, shareholders and business owners on a range of commercial disputes.

James has also a keen interest in writing and delivering papers in his areas of expertise. James has also been active in contributing to law reform in the insolvency area, through his long standing membership in the Insolvency and Reconstruction Law committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia since 1995. He is also a past National and State Chair of the Insolvency & Reconstruction Committee (of the Law Council of Australia).