Jim is an experienced corporate and real estate attorney with a background in municipal law, public finance, and federal contracting. He has served as General Counsel for a privately held firm specializing in public finance and securitized municipal leasing; and as General Counsel for a restaurant holding company with more than 160 company-owned and franchised restaurants situated in the United States and overseas. Jim has also served in the General Counsel’s Office of a Fortune 500 company handling real estate, commercial transaction and information technology matters. Recent representative clients include a national home builder; a regional company operating convenience stores and gas stations; and a publicly held, national building supply company.
Jim’s practice expertise includes the acquisition, development and leasing of commercial real property; structuring, negotiating and performing due diligence for merger and acquisition transactions; and negotiating corporate and project-based financing arrangements. Both in private practice and in his roles as General Counsel, Jim has been responsible for a broad spectrum of matters involving corporate governance, risk management, employment contracts, commercial contracts, franchising, intellectual property, information technology, and governmental regulations.
Away from the Office
Mr. Panipinto served the City of Dallas as a member of the PD 15 Rezoning Task Force and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Preston Hollow East Homeowners Association. Jim has a regular yoga practice and enjoys long rides with his wife on local bike paths. He is an avid gardener and a long-time participant in a study group that has covered topics ranging from 11th century philosophy to contemporary religious thought.
Experience
- Lead counsel for an international logistics and printing company in connection with its $1.1 billion-dollar conversion from Xerox to Canon copiers, and in connection with the negotiation of national contracts for the company’s paper and waste management requirements.
- Counsel responsible for municipal approvals for publicly financed hotel projects
- Counsel overseeing the sale of a medical technology company to a London Stock Exchange company
- Counsel coordinating management’s defense against a hostile takeover of a national tanning company.
