During Jim’s thirty-plus year career practicing law, Jim has developed a reputation as an aggressive litigator who embraces the details of his client’s cases and is up to speed on the law. Jim concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and debtor creditor relations, business disputes and business transactions. He has served as a fiduciary as a trustee in chapter 7 and chapter 11 cases and as a receiver in state court. He has a background as a transactional business lawyer and a Certified Public Accountant, which provide him with the skills to address complicated business issues. His experience as a commercial litigator gives him the perspective to counsel clients on minimizing their exposure to lawsuits and the ability to file or defend lawsuits if necessary. Jim brings a practical and calculated result-oriented approach to his practice to obtain results for his clients as quickly and efficiently as possible.
EXPERIENCE AND FIELDS OF PRACTICE
During his career, Jim has regularly appeared in both state and federal courts. He is an experienced bankruptcy lawyer and has appeared in over 3,500 bankruptcy cases, including over 375 adversary proceedings (lawsuits filed in bankruptcy cases), 40 discharge actions, 150 preference actions and over 70 fraudulent transfer actions. In addition, Jim performs transactional work for his business clients, including:
- Business Organization and Shareholder Agreements
- Business Finance and Loan Transactions
- Contracts and Business Arrangements
- Reorganization and Workouts
- Business Disputes and Business Litigation
- Shareholder Disputes
- Guarantor and Shareholder Representation
- Dissolution and Liquidations
Jim is a Business Bankruptcy Specialist, certified by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization and by the American Board of Certification and is a panel Chapter 7 Trustee for the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina. Jim has over twenty-five years of extensive experience in representing creditors and debtors in out-of-court workouts and Chapter 7 (Liquidation) and Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcies. He has appeared in business Chapter 11 cases involving such diverse industries as real estate development, construction, manufacturing and production, retail sales, restaurants, farming, and service industries. He is also experienced in bankruptcy cases involving complicated tax issues and domestic issues. His background in accounting and tax allows him to review and understand complex business problems beyond the scope of the untrained lawyer.
EDUCATION AND MEMBERSHIPS
- J.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1985)
- B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1979)
- North Carolina State Bar, admitted 1985.
- Board Certified Specialist, Business Bankruptcy, North Carolina Board of Specialization (1993 to present)
- Board Certified Specialist, Business Bankruptcy, American Board of Certification (2007 to present)
- Certified Superior Court Mediator, North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission (2007 to present)
- Member, North Carolina Bar Association, CLE Committee (2004 to 2017)
- Member, Board of Directors, North Carolina State Bar Board of Specialization (2008 to 2015)
- Member, Board of Directors, American Board of Certification (2016 to present)
- Member, Chapter 7 Trustee Panel, Eastern District of North Carolina (2003 to present)
- Member, Chapter 7 Trustee Panel, Middle District of North Carolina (2017 to present)
- Certified Public Accountant, North Carolina (1992 to present)
