JAMES L. CONNER II

James L. Conner II, Partner, Litigation

James L. Conner II is one of North Carolina's most experienced environmental lawyers. After cutting his teeth at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., Jim returned to North Carolina in 1985 to practice law. That same year, he filed one of the seminal and most frequently cited environmental law cases in North Carolina, Wilson v. McLeod. Jim is currently serving his third, three-year term on the N.C. Bar Association?s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section Council and is a frequent speaker to professional groups.

As an administrative law judge for six years, Jim brings that experience to bear for the benefit of his environmental law, administrative law, and litigation clients. Mr. Conner has represented every kind of client, from Fortune 50 companies to small businesses, individuals, environmental groups, and state and local governments. He has successfully represented clients in transactional matters, on regulatory compliance issues, before state and federal courts, and before agencies and commissions.

Jim also practices general administrative law and commercial litigation. Mental health group homes, real estate developers, construction companies, professionals with licensing disputes, and title insurance companies are among his clients. Jim recently won a decision from the Court of Appeals that will fundamentally change the way Medicaid mental health issues are handled in North Carolina.

Perhaps most significantly, Judge Conner brings his time on the bench to his mediation practice, understanding not only the law but the judicial perspective, and using that knowledge to help parties find negotiated solutions. He has been a certified mediator since 1994 and is also a certified arbitrator. He was inducted into the North Carolina Academy of Superior Court Mediators which accepted only 90 of over 1,200 certified Superior Court mediators. Additionally, Mr. Conner was selected for membership into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Less than 5% of professional mediators and/or arbitrators of any state may be admitted into its ?by invitation only? membership.

Jim's community activities include serving on the Durham City/County Environmental Affairs Board, where he served as chair and vice chair. He was a member of the boards of directors for the Piedmont Land Conservancy, Durham Community Shelter for Hope, and North State Legal Services. He has received the Chapter Service Award from the N.C. Sierra Club and the Pyne Historic Preservation Award for the renovation of his historic office building in Durham. In law school, he was founder and chair of the N.C. chapter of the Equal Justice Foundation, was a member of the N.C. Law Review and earned the American Jurisprudence Awards in Torts and Contracts.

He received a B.A., cum laude from Duke University and a J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Jim grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and resides in Durham with his wife, Kathryn Summers and two sons. His two grown sons live in Asheville, NC. He is an avid SCUBA diver, holder of the professional Dive Master certification and former owner of Cape Fear Divers LLC and the SCUBA charter boat M/V Hawksbill.