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Jim Cooley
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Overview

Jim Cooley

Jim Cooley retired from Womble Bond Dickinson on December 31, 2023, after 50 years of law practice and continues to mediate fulltime with Miles Mediation & Arbitration in North Carolina and other states. He focused on resolving complex business disputes since joining Womble Bond Dickinson (formerly Womble Carlyle) in 1985. In addition to his many years of litigation experience, including over 50 jury trials, Jim brings a keen understanding of alternate dispute resolution techniques to his clients’ problems. He served on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Committee (now section) which designed and implemented North Carolina’s court-annexed dispute resolution process, and he served on the Council of the Dispute Resolution Section of the NC Bar Association in 2022-2023. In that role he led the section’s initiative, “Beyond Court-Ordered Mediation,” resulting in the formation of several task forces aimed at exploring new dispute resolution approaches for the 21st century. He has actively participated in the work of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, studying dispute resolution in the construction and financial services industries. Jim has represented clients in hundreds of mediations and arbitrations and is now certified as a mediator in North Carolina, specializing in complex business disputes and class actions.

In recent years, Jim’s practice centered on the representation of financial institutions in a broad range of matters arising out of the 2008 financial crisis. He frequently represented clients in class actions and multidistrict litigation of antitrust, unfair competition, wage and hour and securities fraud claims, numerous corporate and partnership control disputes representing both majority and minority interests, commercial contract disputes for a wide variety of business clients in the United States and abroad and conducting internal corporate investigations. Jim’s interest in constitutional rights litigation continues, primarily on behalf of local governmental bodies in the education context.

Jim was a senior partner in the Charlotte office and a member of Womble Bond Dickinson’s 40-lawyer Financial Services Litigation Team. He was the practice group leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group from 1996-1998 and again from 2006-2012, and he headed the Financial Services Litigation Team from 2013-2018. He served on the firm’s Management Committee for many years, and was awarded the Sandridge Award for service to the firm as well as the Grady Barnhill Award for litigation.

Education

  • J.D., 1973, University of North Carolina School of Law
    • Member, Associate Justice, Holderness Moot Court
    • Member, National Moot Court Team
    • North Carolina Law Review
    • Union Theological Seminary (N.Y.), 1969-70, Rockefeller Brothers Fellow
  • B.A., 1969, Davidson College
    • cum laude
    • Phi Beta Kappa
    • McConnell Scholar

Admitted to Practice

  • All NC State Court, 08/19/1973
  • S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 08/01/1974
  • S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, 04/30/1976
  • S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina,10/30/1973
  • S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 06/19/1974
  • S. Supreme Court, 01/21/1997

Professional or Trade Affiliations

  • Senior Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP (formerly Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP) (Charlotte), 1985-2023
    • Firm Management Committee, 1990-1998; 2006-2008
    • Practice Group Leader, Business Litigation, 1996-1998, 2006-2012)
  • Partner, Pfefferkorn Cooley Pishko & Elliot (Winston-Salem, NC), 1976-84
  • Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow (Winston-Salem, NC), 1974-76
  • Judicial Clerk, Judge J. Braxton Craven, Jr., United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1973-74
  • Mecklenburg County Bar Association
  • North Carolina Bar Association
    • Member, Dispute Resolution Section Council, 2016 – present; chair, 2022-2023, immediate past chair, 2023-2024
    • Litigation Section and Senior Lawyer Division
    • Chair, Large Law Firm Committee, 1997-1998
    • Chair, Committee on Task Force Organization, 2023 – present
  • Member, Select Drafting Committee of the N.C. Board of Bar Examiners, 1986-1993
  • Member, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution

Honors and Awards

  • Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer, Litigation: General Commercial, North Carolina, 2006 – present
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions, Litigation – Real Estate, Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy), 2005 – present
  • Received the Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” award in the fields of Litigation – Real Estate (Charlotte), 2016, 2020; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions (Charlotte), 2018, 2022
  • Recognized by North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society for pro bono work, 2021-2023
  • Super Lawyers Honoree in Business Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Antitrust Litigation, Securities Litigation, North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine (Thomson Reuters) 2006  – 2019
  • BTI Consulting, Client Service All-Start (2017)
  • Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (AV rating)
  • Pen Sandridge Award for Service to the Firm (Womble Carlyle)
  • “The Grady”: the Grady Barnhill Award for Outstanding Performance as a Litigator

Community Involvement

  • Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont (now Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy), 2001-2007 (President 2004-2006)
  • Board of Directors, Legal Aid Society of Northwest North Carolina, Inc., 1983-1987
  • Clinical Adjunct Professor of Law, Wake Forest University (Trial practice), 1982-1987
  • Board Member, Charlotte Ballet
  • Adult Sunday School Teacher, St. John’s Baptist Church (30 years)

Publications (Partial List)

  • Best Practices: Preparing for Managing E-Discovery, Martindale-Hubbell Counsel-to-Counsel Roundtable (2004)
  • Contributor, Desk Book on Alternate Dispute Resolution in North Carolina (North Carolina Bar Association, 1991)
  • Contributor, Preventing and Resolving Construction Disputes, Center for Public Resources, Inc. (1991)

Speaking Engagements

  • Presentation, “Saving Money Through ADR:  What Corporate Counsel Need to Know About Damage and Loss Calculations in Disputes, “  Atlanta Chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association (June 4, 2020)
  • Lecturer, “The Case for Early Mediation,” American Corporate Counsel Association, Charlotte Chapter (November, 2018)
  • Lecturer,  Consumer Finance Class Actions and Litigation (American Conference Institute, New York, NY, January 29-30, 2014)
  • Lecturer, New Cases, New Causes in The Mortgage Crisis:  How Current Credit Woes Affect You and Your Clients (NC Bar Association, September 18, 2008)
  • Current Developments in Business Litigation, WCSR Business Litigation Retreat (September, 2005)

Representative Experience

  • National-Alamo Car Rental System, USA, LLC v. Alaska Sales & Service, Inc., et al., No. 2:17-cv-01220 (United States District Court, D.S.C. (represent national car rental company in litigation against various franchisees)
  • Giabourani v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 2:12-CV-42 (US Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit) (Represented bank in obtaining summary judgment in the US District Court on all claims of lender liability arising out of the marketing, sale and financing of resort property in Western NC; aff’d 11/14/16 2016 WL 6677634)
  • Guilford County, ex rel. Thigpen v. Lender Processing Services, Inc. et al (NC Business Court) (Represent major national bank in defense of claims of Register of Deeds relating to “robo-signing” and improper utilization of MERS) (Motion to dismiss all claims granted)
  • Hamilton Country Club, LLC, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (US District Court, WDNC) (Represent client in claims arising out of an interest rate swap transaction)
  • Adams, et al. v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., et al. (US District Court, EDNC) (Represented client in a mass action by 150+ Plaintiffs arising out of the marketing, sale and financing of coastal resort properties in NC and SC)
Rates and Fees

Rates - Jim Cooley

If you have questions regarding our rates and fees, please contact support@milesadr.com

Charlotte Rates
2 Party Case: $200 per party; per hour
3 Party Case: $133 per party; per hour
4 Party Case: $100 per party; per hour
5+ Party Case: Flat Rate Available Upon Request
Arbitration Hourly Rate: $350

Travel time and expenses, including meals and lodging, billed separately and split equally among the parties at the Neutral's hourly rate.
Pre/Post Consultation & Document Review: Hourly Mediation/Arbitration Rate

Mediation /Arbitration Admin Fees
Charlotte Mediation Admin Fee - $200 per party
Arbitration Commencement And Administration Fee: $1500 per party

MEDIATION CANCELLATION POLICY

Mediations cancelled within 10 days of the mediation will be charged a cancellation fee of $500. However, mediations cancelled, rescheduled or settled within 24 hours of the mediation will be charged 4 hrs. of the Neutral's hourly rate . Cancellation fees shall be sent to the cancelling party unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

ARBITRATION FEE PAYMENT POLICY

Arbitration Commencement and Administrative Fee is $1500.00 per party, per arbitrator. At the commencement of arbitration, each party will be invoiced $1500.00. This fee is refundable minus $500.00 per party until the initial case management order has been issued. All arbitration related invoices are due upon receipt.

ARBITRATION CANCELLATION POLICY

If a single-day Arbitration Hearing scheduled on the merits of the case cancels or reschedules within 15 business days of the hearing, the parties will be charged 4 hours of the Arbitrator’s hourly rate. However, if the single-day Arbitration Hearing cancels or reschedules within 2 business days of the hearing, the parties will be charged 8 hours of the Arbitrator’s hourly rate.

If a multi-day Arbitration Hearing scheduled on the merits of the case cancels or reschedules within 28 business days of the hearing, the parties will be charged 4 hours of the Arbitrator's hourly rate for each day reserved for the hearing. However, if the multi-day Arbitration Hearing cancels or reschedules within 7 business days of the hearing, the parties will be charged 8 hours of the Arbitrator's hourly rate for each day reserved for the hearing.

Issuance of the Final Arbitration Order/Award

Arbitration Awards/Orders will not be issued to either party until Miles has received full payment for all fees and expenses associated with the arbitration.