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A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Cross Law Firm, PLC did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Cross Law Firm, PLC |
| Attorney | James “Jim” E. Cross |
| Office | Phoenix, AZ |
| Focus | Bankruptcy representing debtors, creditors, committees, trustees, and asset purchasers — plus court-appointed examiner, trustee, and mediator work |
| Education | J.D., Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University (1983); B.A. cum laude, The Ohio State University (1980) |
| Certification | State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law (since 1989) |
Sources: State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization roster, firm website, Super Lawyers, LawTally. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
From the Air National Guard to Arizona’s First Subchapter V Trustee
James Cross served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard before moving to Phoenix in 1980. He earned his B.A. cum laude in international business from Ohio State that same year and his J.D. from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 1983, and has been a State Bar of Arizona certified bankruptcy specialist since 1989. In February 2020, the Office of the United States Trustee appointed him a Subchapter V Pool Trustee — the first attorney in Arizona to hold that role, and among the first 250 nationally in a program created to help small businesses reorganize.
Practice
Every Side of a Bankruptcy Case
Cross’s practice is unusually broad within bankruptcy law: he has represented debtors, creditors, official committees of both equity and unsecured creditors, trustees, and asset purchasers, and has served as a court-appointed examiner, trustee, and mediator. He is also admitted to the state bar of Texas in addition to Arizona.
Track Record
Bankruptcy outcomes are governed by court filings and case-specific confidentiality that make a public, itemized results table impractical, and no such compilation was located in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
No attributed, independently sourced client reviews were located in the sources reviewed for this profile; that reflects the available public record, not a claim of a flawless history.
Community
No independently verifiable community or civic involvement was located in the sources reviewed for this profile beyond Cross’s professional and trustee-program activity.
Recognition
Cross is a State Bar of Arizona board-certified specialist in bankruptcy law, certified since 1989, holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell in bankruptcy and insolvency practice, and has been repeatedly recognized among the Best Law Firms in America by U.S. News and World Report. This profile uses the word “specialist” advisedly, on the strength of that documented, individually attributed certification.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Bankruptcy is exclusively a federal matter, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Arizona allows debtors to choose between federal and Arizona-specific state exemptions when filing — a choice not available in every state — which can materially affect what property a filer keeps. Subchapter V, the reorganization track Cross serves as a trustee under, is a streamlined Chapter 11 process created by Congress in 2019 specifically for small businesses.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
James Cross’s differentiator is uncommon breadth: few Arizona bankruptcy attorneys can point to having represented debtors, creditors, and committees alike, and his appointment as the state’s first Subchapter V trustee signals a level of trust from the federal bankruptcy system itself. The honest trade-off: an attorney who also serves as a court-appointed trustee and mediator may have conflicts that limit which cases he can personally represent, and prospective clients should ask directly whether a given matter is one he can take on.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from the State Bar of Arizona’s Board of Legal Specialization public roster, the firm’s own website, Super Lawyers, and LawTally. Cross Law Firm, PLC did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.