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Jim Hunt was selected as Chief Administrative Law Judge with USDA’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. He succeeded Victor Palmer, who served in that position from 1987 until he retired in January 1999 with 31 years of service at USDA, and who is now the director of attorney and paralegal recruitment with Palmer Legal Staffing, based in Washington, DC. Administrative Law Judge Edwin Bernstein served as acting chief ALJ from January to April 1999, and Administrative Law Judge Dorothea Baker served as acting chief ALJ from May to October 1999.

From 1989 until his recent selection Hunt served as an administrative law judge with USDA. He was an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, first in Philadelphia and then in Washington, DC, from 1980-89. From 1972-80 he worked as an attorney in private practice with the firm of Barton, Lambeth and Hunt, based in Washington, DC, where he concentrated on employment law.

Hunt served as director of corporate labor relations with the Atlantic Research/Susquehanna Corporation, based in Alexandria, Va., from 1967-72, after having worked as counsel and manager of the Labor Relations Department at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, based in Washington, DC, from 1964-67. From 1958-64 he was an attorney advisor to the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, based in Washington, DC. He served on active duty as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army from 1953-55.

Hunt authored “The Law of the Workplace: Rights of Employers and Employees” in 1986, and then authored an updated second edition in 1992. He also authored “Employer’s Guide to Labor Relations” in 1974. Both books were published by the Bureau of National Affairs in the private sector.

A native of Morgantown, W.Va., Hunt holds a B.A. degree in history and political science and a law degree, both from the University of West Virginia.