We’re Better Together: Arlington Mayor Jim Ross Talks About Living His American Dream
By Office of Communication
Posted on October 13, 2021, October 13, 2021

Jim Ross was elected to the office of Mayor at the City of Arlington in June 2021. Jim Ross has spent decades serving his community and his country.  As a proud resident of Arlington for nearly forty  years he has witnessed the growth, and growing pains, this community has endured. 

From 1979 to 1983, Jim served this country as a United States Marine. With assignments at home and abroad, Jim served the Marines in numerous capacities.  Having received his Honorable Discharge in 1983, Jim moved to Texas where he was soon hired by the Arlington Police Department. During his thirteen year career as a Police Officer, Jim was a member of Arlington’s first full time Special Operations Unit (SWAT), taught self-defense and physical fitness at the police academy and spent over six years investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, both locally and with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. His commendations and accomplishments as a Marine and police officer are numerous.

In 1996, Jim decided to make a career change and go to law school.  He completed law school in twenty-eight months, studied and passed the State of Texas Bar exam on his first attempt and was licensed as an attorney in May 1999.  During his first ten years of practice, Jim represented thousands of clients while working environmental exposure cases for some of the country’s most prestigious law firms. In 2009, Jim left the larger firms to pursue private practice.

Initially, Jim was a one-man shop.  He answered the phones, did his own typing, and took out the trash.  The Jim Ross Law Group, P.C. has grown and experienced some tremendous success.  Now with offices in Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth the Firm has nearly a dozen lawyers and a staff of over thirty employees. 

In November 2017, Jim opened the Mercury Chophouse – Arlington (MCA) which rapidly became Arlington’s premier fine dining steakhouse.

As an active and proud member of Arlington, Jim has served on the board of directors for the Arlington Police Foundation, the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Margarita Society, Special Olympics, and the American Heart Association.

More than a passionate lawyer, businessman, and advocate for all, Jim is a family man with four children and five grandchildren.  He brings his experience as a caring Father and Papaw to his businesses and the community.

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Arlington Mayor Jim Ross shakes a man's hand.

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