James Chapman is a Senior Counsel in the Firm's Los Angeles office and a member of the Real Estate practice group. He has extensive experience with assisting clients to maximize the tax benefits, and minimize the tax risks, of business transactions on an integrated basis with the business terms of the client's deal. He has broad experience drafting legal agreements, particularly partnerships and LLC agreements.

Mr. Chapman's technical tax experience has focused on US federal income taxes, with additional experience in the areas of state/local income taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, payroll taxes, and the tax regimes of non-US jurisdictions.

Mr. Chapman has advised clients of many diverse shapes and sizes, including:

• US based businesses with international operations
• Foreign businesses with US operations
• Real estate financing and tax credits
• Motion picture production and tax credits
• Private equity funds and their senior management
• Bankruptcy Court appointed Trustees
• Court appointed Receivers
• Estate planning
• Charities

Education

• The University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., Associate Executive Editor of the Hastings International & Comparative Law Review
• New York University's School of Law, L.L.M., Taxation
• University of Oregon School of Law, B.A., magna cum laude

• Mr. Chapman was a Tax Director in the corporate tax department of The Walt Disney Company from 2015 to 2024, where his work focused on the tax aspects of motion picture production (including US state and international production incentives) and distribution.