Practice Expertise

  • Tax
  • Structured Finance and Securitization
  • Residential Mortgage-backed Securities
  • Real Estate Capital Markets

Areas of Practice

  • Real Estate Capital Markets
  • Residential Mortgage-backed Securities
  • Structured Finance and Securitization
  • Tax

Profile

James focuses his practice on global tax with an emphasis on matters relating to real estate mortgage securitization.

James in a senior attorney on the Tax and ERISA team. He provides tax advice for a wide variety of clients in all aspects of mortgage securitization transactions, including REMICs, grantor trusts, CRE CLOs and debt structures, as well as other asset-backed securitization structures. James has represented clients as issuers, underwriters and loan sellers for a range of mortgage backed security transactions. He also provides tax counsel to clients originating loans for securitization and in other real estate financing transactions. James served on active duty in the United States Air Force where he worked as an aircraft mechanic, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant before receiving an honorable discharge in 2006.

Relevant Experience

  • Served as issuer’s and initial purchaser’s counsel to J.P. Morgan Mortgage Acquisition Corp. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (together, “J.P. Morgan”) in connection with the development and execution of a securitization program involving the issuance of $186.4 million in securities backed by a fixed pool of participation interests in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) originated by third parties.
  • Represented issuers in over $56 billion in commercial mortgage-backed security offerings, including public, private and government sponsored entity deals.
  • Represented issuer in first Credit Risk Retention-compliant REMIC; developed tax structures addressing novel issues relating to risk retention interests under REMIC rules.
  • Represented a major middle-market REIT in reorganization and recapitalization.
  • Represented issuer in bespoke tax-exempt loan securitization.
  • Drafted tax disclosure and risk factors for Model Reg AB II REMIC prospectus for commercial mortgage-backed security structures used industry-wide.

Education
BA, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2007

Areas of Practice

  • Real Estate Capital Markets
  • Residential Mortgage-backed Securities
  • Structured Finance and Securitization
  • Tax

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