James L. Tanner, Jr. primarily focuses on sports and entertainment law and negotiations. Mr. Tanner was ranked as one of "Washington's Top Lawyers" for media and sports law by Washingtonian magazine (December 2004, 2009, and 2011), selected as a recipient of the "Forty Under 40 Award" by Sports BusinessJournal (March 2006), identified by the National Law Journal's elite list of "40 Under 40" (May 2005), selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the "101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports" (June 2004 and May 2003), and identified by Black Enterprise's hot list of "America's Most Powerful Players Under 40" (December 2005).

He currently represents Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Marvin Williams, Thaddeus Young, Alana Beard, Brandan Wright, Tamika Catchings and a number of other professional athletes in a wide range of legal matters, including player contract negotiations, advertising and marketing contracts, and general business matters. He is certified as an agent by the National Basketball Players Association and the Women's National Basketball Players Association. Mr. Tanner also represents a number of corporate executives and professional and college coaches in employment contract negotiations.

Mr. Tanner's practice also includes transactional, real estate, and securities law. He has advised and represented high net worth individuals in the acquisition, operation, and sale of commercial real estate. He has also advised diverse businesses of all sizes, including publicly traded and privately held companies. His experience includes registered public offerings, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and ongoing public company reporting and compliance matters. Prior to joining Williams & Connolly LLP, Mr. Tanner was an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and general corporate law. Mr. Tanner also held a senior position in the 1996 Clinton/Gore presidential campaign where he served as the Midwest Briefing Book Coordinator.

Mr. Tanner was previously general counsel and a board member for the Center for National Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that connects national leaders with progressive policy options.