Jim’s practice is best described as a general tax practice. He works with a broad spectrum of clients, from start-up and mid-market family businesses and their owners to publicly traded entities, corporate executives, and retirees — across the full range of tax planning matters.
Jim’s practice encompasses tax advice on mergers and acquisitions, tax structures for start-up businesses, asset protection, business exit planning, succession strategies, executive compensation design, estates, trusts, and wealth preservation.
He also represents clients in disputes with the IRS and state Departments of Revenue. In addition, as the parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum, Jim has developed a dedicated focus on special needs planning for families with a loved one with a disability.
“You can't draft documents, especially in estate planning, unless you fully understand the financial plan. The legal documents really have to follow the financial plan — and the financial plan will evolve."
Jim began his professional tax career in the 1970s in public accounting. Following law school, he litigated tax cases for the IRS as a member of the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice before broadening his practice to serve small and family businesses.
EDUCATION
- University of Missouri-Kansas City, Juris Doctor
- Emory University School of Law, Master of Laws (LLM), Taxation
HONORS & AWARDS
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- Member, Special Needs Alliance
- Named to Georgia Super Lawyers (Estate Planning), 2020 through the present
- Named to MidSouth Super Lawyers (Estate Planning), 2006-2017
- Trustee Emeritus, Vanderbilt’s Paul J. Hartman State & Local Tax Forum
- Best Lawyers
- Named in the categories of (Estate and Trusts, Tax Nonprofit/Charity and Litigation and Controversy – Tax), 2003-through the present
- Named the 2017 Lawyer of the Year – Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Atlanta Area (Best Lawyers) and 2018 and 2020 Lawyer of the Year – Non-Profit/Charities Law, Atlanta Area (Best Lawyers)
- Named 2017 Corporate Lawyer of the Year, Tennessee (Corp America Magazine)
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- American Bar Association
- Georgia Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Missouri Bar Association
- Atlanta Bar Association and Nashville Bar Association
OUTSIDE OF WORK
Along with his wife Diane, Jim is actively involved with disability advocacy and family support organizations across both Tennessee and Georgia.