Jim Weinberg is president of the firm. Jim Weinberg's practice focuses on contract negotiations, merger and acquisition transactions, capital funding for middle-market business, and legal advice to closely held entities. Jim has extensive experience on both the sell and buy sides of acquisitions. On the "sell-side," Jim has represented sellers in a variety of manufacturing and services industries with transaction values ranging from $1.5 million to $500 million. His mergers and acquisition "buy-side" experience ranges from strategic acquisitions by middle-market companies, over 30 acquisitions by an insulation distribution and installation company as part of an industry consolidating rollup, to being part of the legal team in the $1.1 billion leveraged acquisition of Lexmark International, Inc. from IBM.
Jim counsels clients on structuring acquisitions (including tax-free reorganizations), oversees due diligence investigation of acquisition targets, and has developed expertise in the preparation and negotiation of all documents relating to the acquisition and sale of a business, including stock and asset purchase agreements (many of which include sophisticated earn-outs models for sellers remaining with the business), non-competition agreements, shareholder agreements, and employment agreements.
The following matters highlight Jim's experience:
- Ongoing representation of Colonial Downs, Virginia's sole pari-mutuel thoroughbred and standardbred racetrack. Jim has represented Colonial Downs in a variety of capacities, including advice to Colonial Downs' founders in their winning offer to secure the license over five other competitors, Colonial Downs' $42.5 million initial public offering of stock, a $10 million debt raise to finance construction and ongoing operations of a horse racetrack and related facilities, a "going private" merger in 2001, and negotiation of innovative, long-term contracts with Virginia thoroughbred and standardbred horsemen.
- Advises a middle-marker merger and acquisition investment banking firm with national clientele in its day-to-day negotiations of engagement letters and provides other corporate legal services.
- Counsels owners of businesses in a wide variety of areas ranging from new medical devices, apparel and casual shoe sales, real estate management and acquisition, funeral services, and modeling agencies
- Counseled owners of a company in connection with the formation of a roll-up company resulting from the simultaneous sale of a controlling interest to a private equity fund, a $60 million acquisition, and the securing of a $90 million credit facility from of a consortium of Wall Street and national banks.
- Advised the sellers of owners of a title company in the sale of the business to a national bank.
- Counseled sellers of industrial and service businesses in transactions valued at over $150 million.
Jim is the President of the Firm. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Brown University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987, where he served on the editorial boards of the Law Review and the Virginia Journal of International Law and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Prior to joining Hirschler Fleischer, he was associated with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, practicing in the corporate section of its New York and Paris offices. Jim was named to the 2004 "Legal Elite" by Virginia Business Magazine.
He serves as Vice Chairman of the Central Virginia Food Bank, President of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, and Treasurer of Beth Sholom Home of Virginia. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and a graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond (2001). Jim is a member of the Virginia, New York, and American Bar Associations.
Jim was named to Virginia Business Magazine's 2007 List
of "Legal Elite."
