Jim is a licensed attorney and a Certified Specilaist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. This means that he is one of only 900 or so Specialists in the state who have specific and targeted education and training in this legal expertise. He is lead attorney, and founder of CunninghamLegal, a legal firm with 8 offices. His firm offers estate planning and trust administration services to families and indivduals in Northern and Southern California. 

Jim is a member of the California Bar Association, Ventura County Bar Association, El Dorado County Bar Association , WealthCounsel, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), California Advocates for Nursing Care Reform (CANHR), Aircraft Owner’s and Pilot’s Association (AOPA), Vistage International and Capital City Trial Lawyer’s Association.

Jim graduated from Whittier College of Law in 1994 and while there, he was the recipient of Academic Scholarships; was Research Editor of the Whittier Law Review; and, was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award (highest grade) in Civil Procedure. Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz (1991), earning the distinction of Honors in the Major. While at the University of California, Jim studied abroad at the Chambre de Commerce in Nîmes, France (1991) and at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain (1989-1990). Jim is proficient in French and Spanish. 

In addition, Jim is the best selling author of Savvy Estate Planning; a book that takes the complex topics of living trusts, wills, probate, estate planning and estate administration and puts them into terms that just about everyone can understand. The book is available on .

Jim grew up in Ojai and he and his wife Lori, son Nicholas and daughters Katia and Masha, live in El Dorado Hills, California. 

If you need more information or would like help with you or your loved ones' Estate Plan, please contact CunninghamLegal at or email us at

Specialties: IRA Tax Strategies, Elder Law, Special Needs Planning, and Medi-Cal Planning (trusts).