Jim graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Upon graduation, he served as a Lieutenant and Captain in the US Army and was stationed as a field artillery officer in Panama, Vietnam and Germany, which included an assignment to the 101^st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Jim continued his service as an officer in the Army Reserves when he returned to his home state of Georgia to further his education. He earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was a member of the Georgia Law Review and the Order of the Coif. Jim moved to North Carolina immediately upon graduation to begin his legal career.

Jim’s legal experience includes serving in private practice, as in-house counsel for an insurance company, and as a government attorney with the NC Attorney General’s Office. His practice has primarily focused on civil litigation. Jim is an experienced trial attorney who has litigated over 100 cases to a jury verdict. He is a Board-Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice and has been counsel in over 100 cases on appeal to the NC Supreme Court, NC Court of Appeals and the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Jim is also certified by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission as a Superior Court Mediator. His ability to effectively interpret the law has made him a steadfast advocate for his clients over the years.

For the past 18 years, Jim worked for the NC Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General and then a Special Deputy Attorney General. He advised the Secretary of Transportation and other Department of Transportation senior staff on legal issues impacting major public works projects within the Condemnation Unit. Jim tried numerous eminent domain cases on behalf of DOT, and he worked with a team of 10 trial attorneys that handled the statewide Transportation Corridor Official Map Act litigation, consisting of more than 500 cases regarding highway condemnation proceedings and inverse condemnation. Jim concluded approximately 100 eminent domain cases per year either through jury trial to verdict or by settlement, which generally involved the formal mediated settlement conference process. In most cases, the process involved working with and preparing the Department’s appraisal and engineering expert witnesses for trial, taking depositions of property owners’ appraisal and engineering expert witnesses, and litigating hearings pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 136-108 to define the compensable areas and interests that were taken by the Department. To broaden his knowledge and understanding of the condemnation and appraisal processes, Jim took courses offered by the Appraisal Institute, including Appraisal Principles and Condemnation Appraising, in addition to continuing legal education classes related to eminent domain.

Jim graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Upon graduation, he served as a Lieutenant and Captain in the US Army and was stationed as a field artillery officer in Panama, Vietnam and Germany, which included an assignment to the 101^st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Jim continued his service as an officer in the Army Reserves when he returned to his home state of Georgia to further his education. He earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the Georgia Law Review and the Order of the Coif. Jim moved to North Carolina immediately upon graduation to begin his legal career.

North Carolina is home to Jim and his family. He enjoys traveling to the Charlotte area where his two children (and their spouses), three grandchildren and sister all now reside. In his free time, Jim likes to spend time on the golf course, dine out and attend social events around Raleigh.