Jim Walker is a tax partner and trust and estate partner. His broad practice includes experienced 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.
Professional & Civic Engagement
- 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 & Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America - Lawyer of the Year, Litigation Controversy-Tax, Litigation-Trusts, Estates, Trust and Estate Law, Taxation Law, and Charitable Law, 2001-2025
- 5280 Magazine, Top Lawyers, Tax: Corporate, 2015, 2020-2024
- Colorado Super Lawyers, Tax, Estate Planning, and Probate, Employee Benefits, 2006-2024
- 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
Thought Leadership
- Creditors Attacking the Trust, Author, Colorado Lawyer, June 30, 2020
- Sitting Pretty in Probate - What Sandstead Means for Probate Jurisdiction, Author, Colorado Lawyer, January 1, 2019
- 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:
- 30th Anniversary Of Tax Reform Act Of 1986, November 15, 2016
- Denver: 66th Annual Tax Institute Join the Best in the West, July 22, 2016
