About

Legal, Tax and Accounting Background

During and after law school, Jim served as the clerk to the six attorneys and one economist that served as the tax counsel to the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. This period coincided with the consideration and enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Jim started his legal career in 1987 in the tax department of Shutts and Bowen, a large law firm in Miami, Florida, determining how to best structure M&A deals, tax-free mergers, spinoffs, split-ups, and large real estate transactions. After about 3 years in the tax department, he switched to the corporate department primarily doing M&A deals. He was named partner in 1993.

Jim joined the Raleigh office of what is now Kilpatrick Townsend in 1994. Over the years, he was named co-chair of the corporate group and served on the 8-person Executive Committee running KT, by that time a 550 lawyer firm. As co-chair of the corporate group, Jim was responsible for providing sophisticated transactional services to a wide array of clients. Having worked at the highest levels of a large law firm, he is acutely aware of the cost structures that are part of a large firm.

Jim formed James O’Connell, PLLC, in 2004 to provide senior partner level services to clients at more moderate billing rates. Jim is able to provide his clients with top-of-the-line legal services at a lower rate because he does not have the costly overhead that comes with being part of a large law firm.

Education + Licensure

New York University, L.L.M Taxation 1987

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Georgetown University School of Law, J.D. 1986

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Wheeling Jesuit College, B.A. Accounting 1982

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Licensed to practice law in Florida and North Carolina, In Utah, licensure in progress.

Licensed CPA in Florida
(currently inactive)