James Walker, Lewis Roca Photo

James R. Walker

Partner
  • LinkedIn
  • Print PDF
  • vCard

Jim Walker is the firm's senior tax partner and senior trust and estate partner. His broad practice includes ‎expert tax planning and taxpayer defense of federal and state tax positions and all aspects of wealth transfer ‎planning.

Jim is a fifth-generation Coloradoan, with his ancestors ‎arriving in Colorado and homesteading in Douglas County when ‎Colorado was still a U.S. territory. He has practiced with the firm for more than two decades.‎

More About James R. Walker

Education

  • LL.M., New York University School of Law, 1988
  • J.D., University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, Order of the Coif, 1985
  • B.S., Colorado State University, 1982

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 1985

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • Colorado State Judicial District Courts
  • Colorado Supreme Court
  • Colorado Court of Appeals
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims
  • U.S. Court of Claims
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Community

  • International Fiscal Association, Member
  • Greater Denver Tax Counsel, Member
  • Denver Tax Association, Member
  • Denver Estate Planning Council, Member
  • Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, Member
  • American Society of Legal Writers, Member
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Member
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American College of Tax Counsel, Fellow
  • The Colorado Lawyer, Editor of the "Tax Tips" column, 1994-1999
  • CBA's Taxation Section, Chair, 1999-present
  • Colorado Bar Association, Member, Taxation Law Section, Real Estate Law Section, Trust and Estate Section, Business Law Section, and Agricultural and Rural Law Section
  • American Association of Attorney Certified Public Accountants AAACPA, Colorado Chapter President, 2012
  • ABA's Center for Professional Responsibility
  • American Bar Association's Section of Taxation Real Property Probate and Trust Section Section of Business Law

Honors & Recognitions

  • The Best Lawyers in America - Lawyer of the Year, Litigation Controversy-Tax, Litigation-Trusts, Estates, Trust and Estate Law, Taxation Law, and Charitable Law, 2001-2024
  • 5280 Magazine, Top Lawyers, Tax: Corporate, 2015, 2020-2024
  • Colorado Super Lawyers, Tax, Estate Planning, and Probate, Employee Benefits, 2006-2023
  • Colorado Bar Association, Tax Section, James E. Bye Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017
  • Barrister's Best, Tax, 2010
  • Rothgerber Johnson Lyons LLP, "Heavy Lifting Award," Exceptional Client Service, 1997
  • Denver Business Journal, "Forty Under 40," 1997
  • Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, "Fifty For Colorado," 1996

News

Publications

  • Author, Colorado Lawyer, 06/30/2020
  • Sitting Pretty in Probate - What Sandstead Means for Probate Jurisdiction
    Author, Colorado Lawyer, 01/1/2019

Events

Jim is a leading speaker on taxation, business, and legal ethics issues, having addressed national, regional, state, and local audiences. He has delivered more than 50 professional lectures and presentations addressing many issues of federal taxation, business law, and legal ethics. Specific speaking engagements include:

  • Lecturer, "Nonprobate Transfers - Financial Accounts and the Fragmented Estate Plan Gone Wild," American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, August 2011
  • Speaker, “Nonprobate Transfers - Financial Accounts and the Fragmented Estate Gone Wild,” American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, August 2011
  • Co-Speaker, “Conservation Easements: Lessons Learned and What's Ahead,” Colorado Bar Association Real Estate Symposium, July 2011
  • Speaker, “The Use of Experts in the U.S. Tax Court,” Greater Denver Tax Counsel Association, May 2011
  • Lecturer, "Reformation – The Equitable Remedy For Protestants and Others in Need," American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, September 2010
  • Lecturer, "The Protective Doctrine of Undue Influence," American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, September 2009
  • Lecturer, "Estate Planning Challenges For Clients With Diminished Capacity (and Their Lawyers)," 23rd Biennial Advanced Estate Planning Symposium, September 2009
  • Lecturer, "Is There Probate Play in 'Joint Accounts'," Colorado Bar Association-CLE, 2009 Annual Estate Planning Retreat, June 2009
  • Lecturer, "Form 706 – Preparation and Signing," American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, September 2008
  • Lecturer, "Notifying Present and Former 'Clients' of Critical Law Changes," Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Ethics CLE, December 2003
  • Lecturer, "IRS Powers and Procedures to Collect Estate and Gift Taxes,"18th Biennial Advanced Estate Planning Symposium, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, University of Denver College of Law, September 1999
  • Lecturer, "Valuation of Agricultural Property in Estate Planning and Other Contexts," 6th Annual Western Agricultural and Rural Law Roundup, June 1997
Jump to Page

How Can We
Help You?

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.