Jim Skelton practiced law for more than 46 years, focusing primarily on upstream international petroleum transactions, all of which took him to 35 countries in the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The first five years of his career were spent in private practice, after which he worked for Conoco/ConocoPhillips for nearly 28 years before retiring in 2008. Thereafter, he returned to private practice with an international law firm for five years, and then as a solo practitioner and an international legal consultant. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center from 2008 to 2016, teaching the course in Energy Law: Doing Business in Emerging Markets.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Arizona State University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law Houston and a Master of Laws degree in International Legal Studies from New York University. He has published 28 articles for legal periodicals and books and has made 21 presentations at international conferences in Houston, Dallas, London and Moscow. He is the coauthor of the textbook "Doing Business in Emerging Markets: A Transactional Course,” and the author of a memoir, "Volunteering in Ethiopia: A Peace Corps Odyssey." He is also the lead editor and coauthor of two anthologies: "Eradicating Smallpox in Ethiopia: Peace Corps Volunteers' Accounts of their Adventures, Challenges, and Achievements," and "Essays in Honor of Professor Stephen T. Zamora: A Life Between Mexico and the United States."