James A. Manzi, Jr. is a retired partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. James has more than 30 years of experience helping a broad spectrum of clients with complex corporate, finance and real estate and corporate transactions. He was a member of the firm’s Transactional & Securities Practice. Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, he was a partner at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
James’s clients have included two publicly traded multinational forest products companies; office building developers; residential project owners; banks and insurance companies making loans and doing workouts; individual entrepreneurs; corporations making multi-state acquisitions of facilities; individuals forming partnerships or limited liability companies to own and operate real estate; and landlords and tenants leasing office or retail space.
Representative Experience
James has completed transactions including:
- $600 million purchase of a pulp and paper mill in Alabama for a Canadian forest products company
- Closing of a $300 million secured financing with a syndicate of international banks
- Closing of a $300 million sale of timberlands in Alabama and Georgia
- Closing of a $100 million structured finance transaction involving various manufacturing facilities
- Ground lease and sale/leaseback transactions
- The creation, permitting and sale of multifamily dwellings, including senior housing communities, in the cooperative and condominium form of ownership
- Representation of lenders and borrowers in numerous real estate and corporate financing transactions, including construction and acquisition loans
- Workouts and restructurings of numerous loans on behalf of lenders and borrowers
- Rezoning and regulatory permitting of numerous real estate developments
- The drafting and negotiation of numerous construction, engineering and architectural contracts representing both owners and service professionals
James has served as: vice president and general counsel of Collins Development Corporation, a Stamford, Connecticut real estate development company; a partner at the law firm of Cuddy, Lynch, Manzi & Bixby in Boston; and a partner in the Boston office of Milgrim Tomajan and Lee, P.C.
Awards and Recognition
James has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system and was named to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers in 2004 and 2005, an honor received by only 5% of Massachusetts attorneys.
Community Involvement
In 2013, James contributed more than 100 pro bono hours to the Bay Area Legal Services Volunteer Lawyers Program and was recognized by the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee with a Gold Award.
James is also a recipient of the 2005 Lynford Lardner Community Service Award in recognition of his volunteer work and civic involvement. James also is a pro bono volunteer for the Lawyer’s Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing, and the Boston Medical Legal Partnership.