Overview

Whether through lender financing, tax incentives, credits, or grant contributions, Jim assists his clients in accessing funds to achieve their business goals. Jim’s practice primarily concentrates on commercial and industrial real estate, economic development incentives, and corporate law. These focus areas frequently overlap and are interrelated, and Jim’s many years of representing both private companies and governmental entities provide invaluable insight to all of his clients.

Jim represents his clients through the entire site selection and acquisition process - from negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, leading the legal due diligence, including entitlements, through conducting the closing and frequently obtaining economic development incentives for his clients based on the projects’ projected capital investment and jobs creation. In addition to start-up operations, Jim has guided acquisitions of existing commercial and manufacturing facilities, many of which have economic development incentives in place that may be transferable. In light of his breadth of experience, Jim is frequently retained to provide local counsel enforceability opinions for financing of South Carolina facilities.

Jim is actively involved in the South Carolina economic development community and represents the firm in a number of organizations across the state, including the Upstate SC Alliance, Greenville Area Development Corporation, and the South Carolina Economic Developers Association.

Community & Professional

  • Jim is currently a member of:
    • South Carolina Bar Association
    • Greenville County Bar Association
  • Jim has served as:
    • Commissioner, Greenville County Human Relations Commission
    • Chairman, Legal Services Agency of Western Carolina
    • Board Member, Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce
    • Board Member, Leadership Greenville Foundation
    • Chairman, Opportunity Greenville
    • Chairman, Greenville Jaycees
    • State Legal Counsel, South Carolina Jaycees

Experience

  • 2017 – 2022: Representing multiple national developers of “spec” warehousing and distribution buildings in obtaining property tax incentives from Counties and/or Municipalities for their 51 projects involving a projected 33 million square feet and in excess of $2.5 billion announced capital investment.
  • Serving as real estate and economic development incentives counsel for a developer in the acquisition of a textile manufacturing complex, as well as the redevelopment of the property into a multi-use development, including multifamily, retail, entertainment and commercial facilities.
  • Representing a hotel developer in the development of a hotel and commercial building that is contributing to the revitalization of a downtown area.
  • Handling the acquisition of a manufacturing plant in South Carolina, including the transfer of existing economic development incentives and, at the same time, obtaining additional economic development incentives for his client’s expansion of the existing facility.

Recognitions

  • Recognized by TALK Greenville Magazine, Top Lawyers, 2023
  • Greenville Business Magazine's Legal Elite of the Upstate, 2019, 2022-2023
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law, Since 2011 and Corporate Law, Since 2013
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Lawyer of the Year for Corporate Law in Greenville, S.C. in 2019 and 2023
  • Martindale Hubbell Peer-Review Ratings™ - AV Preeminent
  • Leadership South Carolina Graduate
  • Leadership Greenville Graduate
  • South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2013 Leadership in Law Award

Media

Jim is a South Carolina Real Estate Commission certified real estate course instructor and frequently speaks on topics such as (i) fee in lieu of tax arrangements and other South Carolina economic development incentives and (ii) local development agreements, restrictive covenants and horizontal property regimes.

Jim authored two sections of the “Mortgages” chapter in South Carolina Jurisprudence (see vol. 27, pp. 200-207, 306-319.

Admissions

  • State Bar: South Carolina
  • U.S. District Court: South Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals: Fourth Circuit
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To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. – Douglas Adams

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