James Weaver is a partner at Waller Lansden. For more than 22 years Mr. Weaver has assisted a broad range of clients in state and local government relations and federal, state and local regulatory matters. He is particularly active in the areas of incentives, real estate development, mining, environmental, energy, insurance, construction, transportation, telecommunications, and economic development. During the start-up of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation, he served as lead outside counsel. Mr. Weaver has served for many years as General Counsel to Tennessee's Road Builders Association and is a former General Counsel to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He also is a former Vice-Chair for Government Affairs of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Weaver serves as the primary Government Affairs adviser to many of Tennessee’s largest and highest profile businesses, including entities in the retail, professional sports, construction, healthcare, mining, development, waste management, telecommunications and hospitality industries.
Mr. Weaver has represented numerous clients involved in significant development projects throughout Tennessee including the Cool Springs commercial development in Franklin, Tenn., the Turkey Creek commercial development in Knoxville, Tenn. and downtown Nashville's Viridian, ICON, Encore and Velocity projects. He has also led efforts to develop various energy projects in the state, including, natural gas, hydro, biomass, wind and solar. He has extensive experience with the use of various incentive mechanisms available in Tennessee including the use of Tax Increment Financing, PILOTs, and TDZs and has represented numerous clients related to the largest and most complicated incentive transactions in the state. Mr. Weaver also has assisted with the creation of numerous public/private partnerships. Finally Mr. Weaver has assisted numerous high-profile clients with the site selection, siting and permitting, and public, community and government affairs aspects of controversial projects.
Mr. Weaver is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.). He also has been recognized for several years in the Nashville Business Journal's "Best of the Bar," the Nashville Post's "Best Lawyers in Nashville" and Business Tennessee's "Top 150 Lawyers in Tennessee." Mr. Weaver’s long career has resulted in his inclusion on Business Tennessee’s list of the state’s “100 Most Powerful People.”
He also has been involved in a number of significant regulatory cases and matters serving as lead counsel in permitting projects for power plants, mining facilities, pipelines and large commercial/industrial development projects. He has represented numerous regulated entities in matters before various local, state and federal regulatory agencies.
Mr. Weaver frequently speaks on government affairs and regulatory issues, and he has been a seminar presenter for the American Corporate Counsel Association, CLE, Inc., the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Air and Waste Management Association, the National Brownfields Association, National Business Institute (NBI), Government Institutes, Inc., the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit, the Tennessee Road Builders Association, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Education
J.D., Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, 1988
B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1984
Clerkships and Previous Affiliations
Law Clerk for Chief Justice William J. Harbison of the Tennessee Supreme Court, 1988
Professional Activities
Chairman, Government Affairs Committee of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
Former Vice-Chair, Government Relations for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce
General Counsel, Tennessee Road Builders Association
Former General Counsel, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation
Former Secretary/Treasurer and past Member, Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association
Member, Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations
Tennessee Editor for Matthew Bender's Brownfields Law and Practice treatise
Civic and Other Activities
Member, Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
Former Board Chair and Member, Board of Commissioners of the Tennessee State Fair
Former Board Member and Board Chair, Forum for Youth Investment, Washington, D.C.
Former Board Chair, Community Impact! Nashville
Former Board Chair, Reconciliation, Inc.
Former Member, United Way of Middle Tennessee Agency Review Team
Former Member, Board of Directors of Community Shares, Inc. and Council of Community Services
