James W Motsay

Jim is a Baltimore native, married and father of three sons and a step-son. Jim graduated from the University of Baltimore Law School. He has worked in private practice since 1981 and has also been an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. Since 1983 he has served as the Managing Partner for the law firm of Motsay and Lay, Attorney’s at Law. In 1986 he was appointed by Mayor Schaefer to conduct hearings for the City of Baltimore and continues to serve as Administrative Law Judge still today.

In an effort to continue to provide the best possible services to his clients, Jim trained as a mediator in 2000. He serves as a mediator for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Circuit Court for Baltimore County, the Orphan’s Court for Baltimore City and the Orphan’s Court for Baltimore County.

In 2003 Jim began guest lecturing at the University of Maryland School of Social Work on the topic of ethics.  In 2006, Jim joined the faculty of the University of Phoenix as an instructor in the Master's in Business Administration program.

Jim is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Maryland Collaborative Law Association, Inc. He received his training for collaborative law in Dallas, Texas in 2006.

Jim’s goal is to provide the best quality of legal service for his clients and he has furthered this commitment by seeking continued education and training from the top educational institutions.  In pursuit of the goal, he has been trained at Harvard Law School.  He attended the Program of Instruction for Lawyers/Program on Negotiation.  As a Harvard Trained Negotiator, Jim is part of an elite group of attorneys across the country that carries this distinction.

In addition to his family and law activities, Jim has served his community in a number of capacities and on various boards. He received his certification as a Little League Umpire in 1977, and has coached youth and adult soccer since 1971. He also co-founded and served as Co-Commissioner of the Catonsville Indoor Soccer Program. He is a past member and president of the Board for the Catholic Community Schools of South Baltimore. He has served as president of the American Society of Italians and Friends. He was Chairman of the Maryland Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and was honored by the Maryland Chapter as Volunteer of the Year and by the National Society for his volunteer activities and for training other trustees. In 2003, Jim was honored with the “Medal of Honor” by the Baltimore County Fire Department for rescuing a neighbor from her burning house.

Jim began his association with the University of Maryland as a student at UMBC; he continued his association as a member of the University’s Board of Regents and currently he is a member of the Board of Advisors for the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a member of the Alumni Board at UMBC.

Jim and his family are well-known in the legal community.  His father is a retired judge from the District Court of Maryland.  He has two sisters and a brother that are all attorneys actively practicing law in the State of Maryland.  Jim has spent most of his life in and around the law.  His career can be traced to the days as a child going to work at the courthouse with his father.   He has also served as a deputy clerk in the old Criminal Court for Baltimore City, a law clerk, an intern, an Assistant State’s Attorney, a solo practitioner and now partner. 

Jim’s areas of professional interest include collaborative law, family law, estates, will and trusts, collections, contracts and real estate, personal injury and worker’s compensation, traffic and criminal matters.

He resides in Baltimore City and enjoys golf, soccer and spending time with his wife and family.