Jim's reputation for professional excellence is founded in over 25 years of providing accessible, knowledgeable and responsive legal services.

He advises individuals and institutional clients on a variety of business and litigation matters including partnership and shareholder disputes, corporate and commercial transactions, business formations, and securities arbitration. While serving the varied needs of the business community, his experience as a trial attorney and skilled negotiator allows him to resolve legal issues proactively and post-haste.

In addition to his law practice, Jim also serves as a visiting professor and co-chair of the Securities Arbitration Clinic at the Syracuse University College of Law. He has lectured at the University of Wales, clerked for the Hon. Francis Bergan of the New York Court of Appeals and served as an assistant district attorney in Onondaga County for several years.

Jim is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Society of Public Teachers of Law, Selden Law Society and the Onondaga County Bar Association. A trustee for Paul Smith's College in the Adirondacks, Jim also serves on the board of F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse and the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, N.Y. He has served on various other community boards, including the Child Care Council of Onondaga County, Huntington Family Center, Visiting Nurses Association and Volunteer Center, Inc.

Jim received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he was selected as a member of the Order of the Coif. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia.

"The practice of law is about service to people. Whether those people own or run large businesses or have suffered personal tragedies, it is ultimately about using the law to achieve their goals."

"Sometimes that effort includes great intellectual challenge and satisfaction; sometimes it is about hours of hard work and sweat. A complex business dispute is a great opportunity for us to assist someone; so is helping a shareholder who has lost money due to the failure of a broker. Providing service to an employee who wants to change jobs or to a family who has suffered from a loss can both bring satisfaction."

"That satisfaction is felt in the appreciation we receive from your friends and clients. We truly know we have done well when one of those clients who we worked so hard for refers his or her friend to us for assistance. Well over 95 percent of our clients are referrals from other clients and lawyers."

- James L. Sonneborn, Esq.

*Peer Review Rated Attorney