While at Michigan State University College of Law James was admitted under the Legal Education Admission Program (LEAP), an accelerated program allowing Grand Valley State University students to earn both an undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degree in six years. While in law school, Jay was a member of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, a two-year litigation-focused certificate program, and earned the Jurisprudence award for his civil trial class. As part of the First Amendment clinic at MSU Law, Jay taught high school students the foundational principles of free speech.
Jay served as a law clerk to Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Hon. John G. McBain and as a judicial intern to Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Hon. Judge Michael J. Riordan.
Jay also served as a public policy intern for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a Washington, DC-based advocacy group for post-9/11 veterans.
