Jim Oliva is the vice president and general counsel of the Law & Intellectual Property Unit at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM). In this role, Oliva oversees the Law Business and Intellectual Property functions for AHM and related U.S. companies.
Oliva joined Honda in 2013 as senior counsel in the Law Department of Honda North America, Inc., now part of AHM, where he focused on the defense of high-profile class action and product liability cases.
In 2018, Oliva became senior corporate counsel at Honda North America, responsible for negotiating directly with multiple government agencies and serving as a key member of the Honda legal team defending the company in one of the largest litigation matters to affect the automotive industry.
In 2020, Oliva became senior managing counsel in the Intellectual Property Litigation Department, supervising a team of attorneys responsible for defending the intellectual property rights of Honda, including patent infringement, copyright, trademark and counterfeit prevention matters.
In April 2022, Oliva was promoted to associate general counsel in the Law & Intellectual Property Unit of AHM, where he led the Litigation Division, responsible for defending the interests of Honda in courtrooms across the country and providing legal counsel to company executives.
In December 2025, Oliva assumed his current role as vice president and general counsel of Law & Intellectual Property at American Honda.
Oliva holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California in Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in Los Angeles.
