Business Litigation
Our Business Litigation practice group offers the experience of seasoned lawyers who recognize the value of solving problems to promote your business success.
Complex Tort Defense
Since its founding in 1988, a staple of Conn Kavanaugh’s practice has been the defense of business entities in serious and complex personal injury or property damage actions.Construction
Whether you are the owner, design professional, general contractor, project administrator, subcontractor, or supplier on a construction project, our Construction practice will assist you in achieving a successful project outcome.Corporate / Transactional
Our Corporate/Transactional practice has a broad range of skills. This versatility allows them to remain a principal point of contact with our business clients and to move freely across multiple disciplines to ensure continuity of representation.
Criminal / White Collar / Regulatory
We have extensive experience advising businesses and individuals who are the subject of criminal or regulatory investigations or proceedings.
Employment Litigation / Counseling
Employers and employees alike look to Conn Kavanaugh’s employment lawyers for advice in navigating the increasingly complex web of state and federal statutes,Estate Planning / Administration
Our Estate Planning attorneys help individuals and their families plan for the future and protect their assets. We handle all aspects of estate planning.
Family Law / Probate Litigation
Our experienced Family Law/Probate Litigation attorneys work zealously to ensure rightful asset distributions in these emotionally charged proceedings. Our group handles a wide range of areas including prenuptial agreements, custody disputes, and post-divorce support or estate modifications.
Insurance Litigation
Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
Our Land Use/Real Estate Litigation practice has extensive experience in handling real estate disputes of all kinds and at all levels. We can develop a strategy for your dispute.Mediation / Arbitration
Having litigated hundreds of cases, the Mediation/Arbitration practice is well-equipped to effectively value cases to resolve disputes according to your needs and goals.
Product Liability
Conn Kavanaugh’s lawyers regularly represent manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in defending against product liability claims.Professional Liability
Our trial attorneys are accomplished in defending claims against attorneys, health care professionals, insurance agents and brokers, and other professionals.Real Estate
Our Real Estate practice provides skilled representation in a variety of transactions, including the financing, leasing, acquisition and disposition of commercial properties.
- Business Litigation
- Complex Tort Defense
- Construction
- Corporate / Transactional
- Criminal / White Collar / Regulatory
- Employment Litigation / Counseling
- Estate Planning / Administration
- Family Law / Probate Litigation
- Insurance Litigation
- Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
- Mediation / Arbitration
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability
- Real Estate
Architects/Engineers
Conn Kavanaugh has a wealth of experience advising and representing architects and engineers in many aspects of their businesses.
Cannabis
Closely Held/Family Businesses
Conn Kavanaugh’s business attorneys have a broad range of skills and are very experienced in providing legal services to family-owned and other closely-held businesses.
Construction
Conn Kavanaugh has provided an array of services to private and public clients in the construction industry, including the manufacturers of building materials and systems.Financial Services
Conn Kavanaugh draws upon a wide range of disciplines to meet the needs of individual and institutional clients in the financial services industry.
Food and Beverage
Our decades of work in the food and beverage industry, including alcohol regulatory and distribution, have permitted us to gain expertise and insight into the typically fast paced and challenging world of our clients engaged in the food and beverage industry.Government
Conn Kavanaugh provides an array of services to clients in the public sector, including state agencies, municipalities, and public officials.Healthcare
The Conn Kavanaugh team has the skills and experience necessary to successfully maneuver our clients through the increasingly complex and highly regulated environment of the health care industry.Insurance
Our lawyers work with our insurance industry clients in a variety of ways. We represent their insureds in virtually every type of lawsuit for which insurance coverage is available. We represent insurance companies directly in bad faith actions, and in high-exposure losses or losses that present unusual or challenging coverage issues.Law Firms
Since the firm was founded in 1988, our attorneys have been known as “lawyers’ lawyers.”Manufacturing
Conn Kavanaugh has broad experience in representing the interests and needs of various manufacturers.
Real Estate
Conn Kavanaugh has a wealth of experience in the real estate field.Staffing and Recruiting
Staffing companies and Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) are playing an increasingly important role in many aspects of human resource management, as employers are relying more and more on staffing companies and PEOs for payroll and employee benefit administration, risk management, and other increasingly complex administrative burdens.
James Gray Wagner
Partner
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Print Full BioJames handles complex disputes, particularly in business, real property, and probate matters. Clients seek out James for his compassionate listening, creative strategies, and articulate presentations.
In business disputes, James handles business break-ups, partner disputes, Chapter 93A claims, non-competes, insurance disputes, and contract claims.
In real property disputes, James handles commercial lease disputes, title and boundary disputes, lien issues, purchase and sale claims, equitable claims, and permitting disputes. His land use work includes representation of owners, developers, lessees, municipalities, and abutters before local boards, state agencies, and all courts.
In probate disputes, James represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and family members in will contests and trust litigation.
James’s practice also includes insurance coverage and professional liability litigation. He has tried cases in Superior Court, Land Court, and District Court. He has recent appearances in the First Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Appeals Court. He has handled matters pro hac vice in Delaware, New Jersey, Texas, and Maine.
James has received an AV Peer Review Rating, the highest rating, in The Martindale-Hubbell Lawyers Directory.
James is active in firm management. He currently serves as the firm’s Hiring Partner.
James is active in the leadership of the Episcopal Church. He currently serves on the Vestry of his local parish. He formerly was President of the Standing Committee, Diocese of Massachusetts, responsible for oversight of the election of the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates.
Practice Areas
- Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
- Business Litigation
- Professional Liability
- Family Law / Probate Litigation
- Complex Tort Defense
- Construction
Industries
Education
- Vanderbilt University School of Law, J.D. (1989)
- Bedford College, University of London (1984-1985)
- Bowdoin College, B.A. cum laude (1986)
Court Admissions
- Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
- United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- First Circuit Court of Appeals
Representative Matters
- Land Use / Real Estate Litigation
- Secured a favorable decision from the Massachusetts Appeals Court on behalf of a client challenging an illegal real estate development in Chestnut Hill. The Appeals Court affirmed the Land Court's trial and summary judgment rulings on several zoning and procedural issues decided favorably for the client in the trial court.
- Secured an affirmance from the Supreme Judicial Court of a judgment after trial in Land Court in 81 Spooner Road, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Brookline. The SJC upheld summary judgment for the firm's client on the issue of "standing" to assert a zoning challenge to a building permit issued for a house in Chestnut Hill.
- Obtained land use permits for major regional bank at two dozen branches.
- Tried cases to judgment in hazardous waste, zoning, lot division, mortgage enforceability, and commercial lease matters.
- Prosecuted 21E claim resulting in recovery from former owner of 100% of client's remediation costs and OSHA fines.
- Obtained defense in the Superior Court, upheld on appeal, for state's largest town in zoning, wetlands, and subdivision dispute.
- Defended national retailer in commercial lease/ parking dispute, prosecuting chapter 93A counterclaim to recovery of 150% of attorneys' fees.
- Business Litigation
- Tried trade secrets case against departed employee and new company, obtaining award of many damages, doubled under Chapter 93A, attorney fees, and an order to assign patents and FDA clearances.
- Represented creditor health management firm against local chain of clinics in Federal Court in MA and bankruptcy court in MA and ME, obtaining collection of 100% of principal and substantial interest on debt.
- Represented defense contractor in arbitration proceeding to collect for parts delivered, collecting $1,200,000 for client.
- Complex Tort Defense
- Tried case for lawyer prosecuting fee claim and defending counterclaim for malpractice in land title case, securing settlement on third day of trial for 100% of principal on fees.
- Defended specialty insurance broker in Delaware Chancery Court, with post-trial, post-judgment, and appellate proceedings. Claims by international insurer and subprime lender of more than $6,000,000 resulted in a verdict of less than $400,000, upheld on appeal by the Delaware Supreme Court.
- Probate Litigation
- Represented personal representative in will content to protect $20 million in probate estate and hundreds of millions in trust assets.
- Represented excluded cousins in will contest, securing agreement to put land in charitable trust, to convey family heirlooms, and to pay attorneys' fees.
- Represented trust beneficiary to oust trustee and recover $1 million interest in investment property.
Reported Cases
- Cook & Co. v. Volunteer Firemen’s Ins. Serv., Inc., 657 Fed. Appx. 1 (1st Cir. 2016).
- 81 Spooner Road, LLC v. Zoning Bd. of Brookline, 461 Mass. 692, 964 N.E.2d 318 (2012), affirming 78 Mass. App. Ct. 224, 936 N.E 2d 895 (2010), 2009 WL 1114609 (Land Ct. 2009), and 2007 WL 1098639 (Land Ct. 2007).
- Trinity Realty I, LLC v. Chazumba, LLC, 931 N.E.2d 219 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010).
- 81 Spooner Road, LLC v. Brookline, 452 Mass. 109, 891 N.E 2d 219 (2008) (submitting amicus brief for City Solicitors and Town Counsel Assn., cited favorably by the Court), affirming 2007 WL 2430064 (Land Ct. 2007).
- Medical Records Assoc., Inc. v. American Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 142 F.3d 513 (1st Cir. 1998).
- Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. National Installment Ins. Services, Inc., 2008 WL 2133417 (Del. Ch. 2008), affirming 2007 WL 4554453 (Del. Ch. 2007), affirmed by Delaware Supreme Court.
Professional Affiliation and Activities
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Member
- Boston Bar Association, Member
- Massachusetts Superior Court, Law Clerk (1989-90)
- City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association, Member
- Real Estate Bar Association, Member
