About James
For four decades, Jim Ryan has helped high net worth Arizona families create and enjoy financial legacies. A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a Certified Specialist in Estate and Trust Law, Jim Ryan is a widely acknowledged leader in Phoenix-Scottsdale legal and business circles for complex estate and business planning and estate administration.Jim is a past chair of the Estate and Trust Advisory Commission for the State Bar of Arizona, which administers the annual certification test for applicants in the Estate and Trust Law specialty, and served on the Commission for seven years. Jim also chaired the Arizona Trust Code subcommittee to the Probate and Trust Section of the State Bar of Arizona for four years and is a member and past chairman of the Probate and Trust Section Executive Council. The Arizona Trust Code project successfully concluded with its passage into law effective January 1, 2009.Jim has lectured on numerous occasions for the State Bar of Arizona, Maricopa County Bar Association, Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix Tax Workshop, Arizona State University Alumni Association, National Business Institute, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention and numerous estate planning study groups.
For four decades, Jim Ryan has helped high net worth Arizona families create and enjoy financial legacies. A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a Certified Specialist in Estate and Trust Law, Jim Ryan is a widely acknowledged leader in Phoenix-Scottsdale legal and business circles for complex estate and business planning and estate administration.Jim is a past chair of the Estate and Trust Advisory Commission for the State Bar of Arizona, which administers the annual certification test for applicants in the Estate and Trust Law specialty, and served on the Commission for seven years. Jim also chaired the Arizona Trust Code subcommittee to the Probate and Trust Section of the State Bar of Arizona for four years and is a member and past chairman of the Probate and Trust Section Executive Council. The Arizona Trust Code project successfully concluded with its passage into law effective January 1, 2009.Jim has lectured on numerous occasions for the State Bar of Arizona, Maricopa County Bar Association, Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix Tax Workshop, Arizona State University Alumni Association, National Business Institute, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention and numerous estate planning study groups.
Practice Areas
Professional Affiliations
Awards & Recognition
- Lawyer of the Year: Trusts and Estates, Phoenix (2013)
- Recognized: Trusts and Estates
- Practice Area: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Practice Area: Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
- Practice Area: Real Estate Law
- Practice Area: Tax Law
- Special Focus: Corporate
- Special Focus: Estate Planning
- Special Focus: Nonprofit Organizations and Charitable Giving
- Special Focus: Planning for Closely Held Businesses
- Special Focus: Probate
- Special Focus: Succession Planning
- Special Focus: Tax
- Special Focus: Trust Administration
- Certified Specialist in Estate and Trust Law, Arizona Board of Legal Specialization
- Phoenix "Lawyer of the Year (Trusts and Estates), 2013: The Best Lawyers in America®
- Super Lawyers®, 2008-present
- Eleanor ter Horst Distinguished Service Award, State Bar of Arizona, 2015