James “Jim” Fogg

Jim focuses his trial practice on advocating for individuals and companies that have fallen victim to legal malpractice, find themselves in a business dispute, or are enmeshed in trust and estate litigation.  He recognizes that clients come to him because they face a problem they cannot solve on their own and that each problem is unique.  Jim prides himself on developing a tailored approach that makes sense strategically and financially to get to the heart of the matter and efficiently resolve the dispute.

Jim started his legal career over 15 years ago as a legal assistant and worked his way up through the ranks using his intensity, analytical skill, and results-oriented approach.  After graduating from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law in the top 3% of his class, Jim clerked for the Honorable James S. Casebolt of the Colorado Court of Appeals.  Since then, Jim has primarily concentrated on litigating and trying disputes surrounding the exercise of fiduciary duties, such as those that arise as a result of the client-lawyer relationship, in myriad business relationships, or in the administration of a trust or estate.

Jim’s legal malpractice clients come from all walks of life.  He has represented the victims of lawyer misconduct in cases arising from underlying business transactions, tax planning, patent prosecution, patent infringement litigation, estate planning, litigation, bankruptcy, and many other legal matters. Jim appears in malpractice cases in state and federal courts throughout the country, and in arbitration, having recently litigated such cases in Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and North Dakota.

Jim’s commercial litigation practice runs the gamut.  He regularly represents individuals and companies in business disputes involving claims for breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and many other business torts and contract-based claims.  Jim also frequently guides individuals seeking to separate their interests from a business partner in a “business divorce” prior to and, if necessary, during litigation.

In the realm of trust and estates, Jim assists individuals and families in litigation involving a trustee’s breach of fiduciary duty or breach of trust, challenges to estate planning documents, such as will contests, and other disputes over inheritance, trust administration, protective proceedings, and control of a family business.  Jim also advises and defends fiduciaries when they have been wrongly accused.

Colorado Super Lawyers has recognized Jim a “Rising Star” since 2018 and Best Lawyers in America has identified Jim as one of the “Ones to Watch” since 2021.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Won $8.7 million judgment on behalf of three trust beneficiaries who had been harmed by trustee’s breaches of fiduciary duty and civil theft, then obtained dismissal of trustee’s appeal.
• Successfully defended one manager of a limited liability company who was dragged into a lawsuit for misrepresentations made by his co-manager, then prevailed in arbitration against the manager who made the misrepresentations to recover 100% of the expenses paid in the lawsuit.
• Obtained confidential settlement of legal malpractice claim arising from errant tax advice relating to revenues of patent infringement litigation.
• Obtained a swift and favorable resolution of claims lodged by a disgruntled family member filed a lawsuit against his sisters, his cousin (who acted as a trustee), and his aunt (who acted as personal representative) before the parties even took the first deposition.
• Won $1.9 million arbitration award in a breach of contract dispute on behalf of minority investor being squeezed out of recreational marijuana business.

LECTURES & PUBLICATIONS

• Author – Trial Chapter, Personal Injury in Colorado, publication pending
• Lecturer – “Young Lawyers and Malpractice,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Jun. 2023)
• Lecturer – “Arbitration – Perspectives on Using the Process to Your Advantage,” CTLA Blockbuster (Jan. 2021)
• Lecturer – “Ethically Using, Piercing, & Navigating Shields During Discovery,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Dec.. 2021)
• Lecturer – “Think Ahead and Put ‘It’ in Writing! Best Practices for Client-Lawyer Fee Agreements,” CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Jun. 2020)
• Author – “Navigating the Minefield Laid by Prior Counsel’s Negligent Work,” Law Week Colorado Vol. 17, Issue 38 (Sept. 2019)
• Lecturer – “The Fee Application: Putting Your Best Foot Forward and Avoiding the Pitfalls,” CTLA (Aug. 2019)
• Author – Chapter 8.7, “Lawyer Disqualification,” LAWYER’S PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY IN COLORADO (2017 ed.)