James D. Dwyer was born on September 12, 1947, in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and lies on the Missouri River.
His higher education took him to the Pacific coast, first to Seattle University and then to the University of San Diego, before he settled in Seattle as a lawyer.
Dwyer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle University in 1969. The university traces its origins to 1891, when Jesuit priests opened the School of the Immaculate Conception in Seattle. Its college was chartered as Seattle College in 1898 and took the name Seattle University in 1948. In 1931 the institution began admitting women through a night school, an early step toward coeducation in its Jesuit tradition.
He then studied at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he received a Juris Doctor in 1972. The law school was established in 1954, began accepting applications that April, and graduated its first eight students in 1958. It received American Bar Association accreditation in 1961 and joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1966. In 1972 the institution still operated as San Diego University, which became the University of San Diego through a merger of its men's and women's colleges in the early 1970s.
Dwyer's documented government service includes work as caucus counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the state legislature. Caucus counsel provide legal advice to a party group within a legislative body.
In 1972 Dwyer began his association with Bogle & Gates, a Seattle law firm whose origins lie in an admiralty practice established in Tacoma in 1891. The firm was known as Bogle, Gates, Dobrin, Wakefield & Long from 1965 to 1974, and it adopted the name Bogle & Gates afterward. He practiced there as a partner, and his practice focused on business crimes defense, commercial litigation, and appellate work. By 1999 the firm employed 191 attorneys in several cities, but it dissolved that year after a group of lawyers left for Dorsey & Whitney.
Dwyer was a member of the Washington State Bar Association, where he belonged to the Trial Practice and Criminal Law Sections, and of the Seattle-King County Bar Association. He was also a member of the State Bar of California, the Federal Bar Association, and the Criminal Justice and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association. Bar associations bring lawyers together to promote professional standards, legal education, and the administration of justice.
His trade and business involvement included directing the Washington Council for International Trade from 1984. The Council is a nonprofit that advocates trade and investment policies to strengthen the competitiveness of Washington's workers, farmers, and businesses. He also served as a director of the Washington State China Council and chaired the International Committee of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce from 1988. The President's Export Council was a federal advisory body that offered counsel on export policy to the United States Department of Commerce, and Dwyer was a member of it.
At Seattle University he chaired the Board of Regents from 1982, a volunteer body that advises the university president and serves as an ambassador to the campus community. He also served on the Board of Trustees, which oversees the university's strategic direction, and on the Alumni Board of Governors, which was later unified with the Board of Regents.
Member of the Trial Practice and Criminal Law Sections
Washington State Bar Association , United States
1972
Seattle-King County Bar Association , United States
State Bar of California , United States
Federal Bar Association , United States
Member of the Criminal Justice and Litigation Sections
American Bar Association , United States
Director
Washington Council for International Trade , United States
1984
Director
Washington State China Council , United States
Chair, International Committee
Seattle Chamber of Commerce , United States
1988
Member
President's Export Council , United States
Chair
Seattle University Board of Regents , United States
1982
Seattle University Board of Trustees , United States
Seattle University Alumni Board of Governors , United States
In 2018 Seattle University's Alumni Association recognized James and Jan Dwyer jointly for their lifelong commitment and leadership to the university. Their service included volunteer fundraising campaigns, chairing the university's gala, and membership on its alumni and governing boards.
