Legal Services & Lawyers

Jim Underhill has been practicing law for over 29 years, with particular focus on business advice, real estate issues and investment, and commercial transactions.

Coining the Term "Business Divorce" ® to describe a very specialized and important type of legal issue and legal dispute.

While a civil litigator many years ago, Jim noticed that many disputes between the owners and operators of closely held and family businesses resulted in the collapse of the underlying business due to the acrimony involved. He developed the expertise and coined the term Business Divorce to describe the specialized legal services he offers to address these issues. The last ten years have been spent refining his skills and techniques in providing services to clients undergoing dissolution of their businesses.

Jim also provides mediation services in cases involving dissolution of a business when counsel may already be present or litigation is underway. He provides a neutral viewpoint based not only on the law but also on extensive experience with business disputes to help save the business while resolving disputes.

Real Estate Disputes

Jim is especially knowledgeable in the analysis and protection of unusual real estate interests for developers, land owners, and also regarding specialized properties such as patented mining claims and U.S. Forest in-holdings. He has also handled numerous adverse possession and commercial real estate cases, including the foreclosure of two different Colorado ski resorts and other commercial and residential properties.

A Brief History of Jim

After passing the bar in 1979, Jim served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. As trial counsel and government appellate counsel, he prosecuted at trial and on appeal more than 600 courts-martial. He then went on to become a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, serving in the criminal section of the Tax Division, where he prosecuted numerous cases involving violations of the tax laws in the federal courts. During his tenure in Washington, D.C., Jim obtained the longest sentences adjudged to date against tax protestor (militia) defendants.

He left in 1986 to escape to the mountains and practice civil litigation and business law in the Denver Metro area. He worked with a number of private law firms until opening his own practice in 1993. Since 1994, Jim has practiced law with his wife and law partner, Joanne.