James P. Cox, III

ames has more than 40 years of experience in the area of estate planning and administration, estate disputes, and real estate. He has been with the firm since he began practicing law in 1983. Mr. Cox received a B.A. summa cum laude from Duke University in 1980 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1983.

He is a Virginia Law Foundation Fellow and a committee member of Virginia CLE and the Virginia Law Foundation. He is a past Chairman and member of the Council and Legislative Committee of the Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section of the Virginia Bar Association. He was the President of the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association for 2009-2010 and is the current Chairman of the Real Estate Committee of the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education programs and since 1993 has been the author of the annual supplements to the four-volume treatise, Harrison on Wills and Administration in Virginia and West Virginia, published by the Michie Company, now Lexis Nexis.

He is also the editor and contributing author to the Virginia CLE publication, Estate and Trust Administration in Virginia, first published in 1997. He is named in the current edition of the Best Lawyers in America, in both Trusts and Estates and Real Estate Law, and as Lawyer of the Year in Trusts and Estates for 2020.

• Duke University, B.A. summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa 1980
• University of Virginia School of Law, J.D. 1983

• Virginia Bar Association; Past Chairman Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section
• American Bar Association
• Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, Secretary/Treasurer 1994-1995
• Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, President 2009-2010
• Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, Current Chair of Real Estate Committee
• Virginia Bar Association, Board of Governors
• Virginia CLE, Committee Member
• Duke University Estate Planning Council
• Central Virginia Estate Planning Council, Former Chair
• Preeminent AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
• Virginia Law Foundation, Fellow
• Best Lawyers in America
  • Real Estate Law, 2005 – 2025
  • Trusts and Estates, 2005 – 2025
  • Litigation – Trusts and Estates, 2011 – 2025
  • Lawyer of the Year – Trust and Estates, Charlottesville, VA, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2024
  • Lawyer of the Year – Real Estate Law, Charlottesville, VA, 2021
• Super Lawyers 2022

• Virginia State Bar