Jim E. Bullock

Brief Bio

Jim has been described as a business lawyer … not just a lawyer who practices business law, but a lawyer who understands business. He advises clients on corporate and transactional matters (intellectual property development, licensing, and protection; private equity and debt finance; labor and employment; oil and gas transactions; commercial real estate transactions; complex lending transactions; marketing and advertising; and compliance matters) and represents clients in litigation before state and federal courts as well as arbitration (intellectual property disputes; contract and commercial disputes; labor and employment matters; and trust and estate litigation).

The Rest of the Story

A fifth generation Texan (as he’s traced so far … his ancestor, James Edwards, was born in Smith County just a few years after Texas won its independence), Jim was born and raised in Irving, Texas where he attended THE Irving High School, played football, ran track, and served as president of his senior class.

He attended the University of North Texas where he studied history (focusing mainly on WWII military history), joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity (and was honored by his brothers to serve as their president for two terms), was elected to serve on the student government and the interfraternity council, was admitted to numerous honor societies, and – most importantly – met his wife, Catherine (“Lee”). After they graduated from UNT, Lee (a successful businesswoman) stuck with him through his years as a penurious law student at SMU where he was a mock trial quarterfinalist, inducted into the Mac Taylor Inn of Court, and a law clerk for Hon. Carolyn Wright of the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals.

After passing the bar, Jim worked as an associate for Winn, Beaudry & Winn, LLP, where he practiced general civil litigation, probate, estate and trust litigation, and estate planning, drafting wills, and probate, before Lee and he moved to Austin to join Computer Sciences Corporation as intellectual property licensing counsel in its Financial Services Group. Lee – an entrepreneur – had built a thriving printing business which easily migrated to Austin, while Jim traveled the U.S. negotiating software license agreements, remote support agreements (the precursor to SaaS) and outsourcing deals for CSC.

In 2000, Lee and Jim returned to DFW when Jim joined Sun Microsystems, Inc., as regional counsel for the Southwest U.S. (or, as Sun’s general counsel dubbed him, “the lone sheriff in the southwest”) where he supported Sun’s salesforce, professional services team, product development team, and nationwide marketing team. In 2004, Jim joined etalk Corporation – a global software and services company – as its general counsel and chief operating officer, where he served on the senior management team that led the company to a multi-million dollar exit for shareholders.

In 2009, Jim re-entered private practice and formed Christiansen Bullock LLC, a firm dedicated to serving small to medium-sized businesses. As his practice grew, Jim migrated to Cantey Hanger, LLP and, eventually, to Grable Martin PLLC with its streamlined delivery model and topflight lawyers with business mindsets and variety of practice areas.

Jim focuses on achieving his client’s goals and solving their problems – whether through negotiation or litigation. While subscribing to Abe Lincoln’s admonition that “as a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good [person],” Jim is equally comfortable in the boardroom as in the courtroom. Having been a COO, he understands the bottom line and that, ultimately, the business must move forward.

Jim serves as a member of SMU Impact Lab’s Investment Advisory Committee, a member of the Archgate Montessori Academy board of trustees, a member of the Iota Phi Educational Foundation, Inc., board of trustees, the international services director for the Rotary Club of Frisco (he is also past president of the club), alumni advisor for the Sigma Chi Fraternity chapter at UNT, a member of the Krach Transformational Leadership Workshop faculty, and  a frequent guest lecturer for SMU’s entrepreneurship program. In his spare time, he covets any moment he can have with his wife Lee and his son Corbin (now a college student studying biochemistry) and still dreams of being a gentleman rancher.

Selective publications:

• The IP Licensing Lawyer’s Job: A Survival Guide, ABA Publishing, 1st Ed., 2008
• “Intellectual Property Royalties” chapter, Lawyers Guide to Formulas in Deal Documents and SEC Filings, Law Journal Press, 1st Ed. 2008
• “Structuring Software and Technology Reseller and Distributor Agreements: Guide for Corporate and Technology Counsel for Drafting and Negotiating Contracts”, Strafford Publications, Inc., webinar, November 2021
• “The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020: new tools to combat financial crimes,” LinkedIn, February 2021
• “SEC Amends the Private Offering Framework,” LinkedIn, December 2020
• “Avoiding FCPA Trouble – Hints from the DOJ’s Advisory Opinion,” LinkedIn, November 2020
• “Understanding the CARES Act & the New 7A Loans,” LinkedIn, March 2020
• “Relax, Oracle v. Google Isn’t a Sign of the Apocalypse,” LinkedIn, March 2018
• “Structuring Software and Technology Reseller and Distributor Agreements: Guide for Corporate and Technology Counsel for Drafting and Negotiating Contracts”, Strafford Publications, Inc., September 2013
• “IP Issues”, American Conference Institute, February 2008
• “Understanding Your Corporate Client”, Headnotes (Journal of the Dallas Bar Association), June 2008
• “Balancing Competing Interests”, American Conference Institute, April 2008
• “What do you need in your software license grant?”, American Conference Institute, October 2004
• “The License Grant: getting what you really want”, American Conference Institute, June 2004
• “The License Grant: determining what you really need or want”, American Conference Institute, October 2003
• “Passing it on: Five basic issues in technology licensing”, Business Law Today, July/August 2003
• “Licensing Intellectual Property Overseas: China”, University of Houston’s 15th Annual Computer and Information Law Institute, September 2001
• “Intellectual Property Protections in China,” Docket of the American Corporate Counsel Association, November 2000