James W. Beasley, Jr.
Phone: (561) 835-0900
Fax: (561) 835-0939
Email: beasley@beasleylaw.net
Jim Beasley has more than 40 years of litigation experience, He is a graduate of Harvard Law School who Is regularly recognized as one of the leading business and financial litigation lawyers in Florida. He has tried cases and argued appeals in state and federal courts throughout Florida and in other states. Jim is an expert on damages in business litigation cases, including accountings and lost profits. Jim’s litigation practice has involved a wide variety of businesses and issues, representing plaintiffs and defendants:
- Contracts
- Corporate litigation, including class and derivative actions
- Securities
- Ponzi schemes and other frauds
- Business torts, such as breach of fiduciary duty and tortious interference with business relationships
- Real estate development and finance
- Banking and financial institutions, including private equity and venture capital firms
- Physicians and hospitals
- Professional partnerships
- Professional liability of lawyers and accountants
- Intellectual property and technology
Jim also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and attorneys’ fee expert.
In addition to his litigation practice, Jim has substantial experience in complex business transactions. He has represented clients in public and private offerings of securities. Mergers and acquisitions, financings and other transactions. He also served as general counsel to public and private companies.
Jim is among an elite group of about 1,000 lawyers across the country to be ranked annually for 36 years in The Best Lawyers in America since the first edition in 1983. He is the subject of a chapter in the book, “The Money Lawyers,” by Joseph C. Gouden (2006), and an extensive article m the Washington & Lee Law Review (1997) . Jim began his practice on Wall Street with Sullivan & Cromwell. After two years as a U.S. Army Captain serving on the staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis), he practiced in Washington with Wilmer. Cutler & Pickering. He practiced in Miami from 1972 to 1988, when he moved to Palm Beach County to join Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He founded the present firm in 1997.
EDUCATION
- Harvard Law School, LL.B., cum laude, 1968
- Davidson College, A.B., history, cum laude, 1965
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Best Lawyers in America, listed annually since the first edition in 1983
- 30 Years AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Firm ranked as a Best Law Firm by S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers every year since the inception of the rankings in 2010
- Firm recognized as a “Top Law Firm” by South Florida Legal Guide since 2004
- Florida Super Lawyers
- Florida Trend’s Legal Elite
- Who’s Who in America
- Who’s Who in American Law
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
- Florida
- New York
- District of Columbia
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals: 11th, 5th, and 2nd Circuits
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- Federal Bar Association
- Palm Beach County Bar Association
- Craig S. Barnard American inn of Court, Master of the Bench (2017-18)
- Florida Bar, Business and Corporate Litigation Section, Chairman, Securities Regulation Committee, 1975 -1977
COMMUNITY AND CIVIC ACTIVITIES
- Harvard Law School Association of Florida, Past President
- Davidson College South Florida Alumni Chapter, Past President
- Urban Land Institute, Past Member
- England Delegation, South Florida Initiative, Past Chairman
- Channel 2 Public Television, Past Member, Board of Directors
- Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Past Member, Board of Directors & Vice-Chairman, New World Center Action Committee
- Dade County, Past Member, Downtown Transportation Policy Committee
- Greater Miami Opera Association, Past Member, Board of Patrons
- Palm Beach County Convention Center Advisory Board, Chairman
- Palm Beach Opera, President
- Board of Governors, Historical Society of Palm Beach County