Home >> Attorneys >> James L. Pray, Attorney at Law

James L. Pray is a member of BrownWinick and the Chair of both the Environmental Law practice group and the Energy Law practice group. Jim's practice includes both consulting and litigation services to the business community with an emphasis on assisting with environmental, railroad, utility, due diligence and business workout concerns. Jim has been involved with numerous environmental investigations cleanups around the state of Iowa and the rest of the country. His practice includes assisting with contract negotiation, risk assessments, commercial development feasibility studies, brownfields projects, and mergers and acquisitions. Jim has also provided due diligence, development, environmental and transportation advice to more than three dozen ethanol and biofuel projects around the country.

Jim's litigation practice includes administrative litigation and civil litigation at the district court level, before the Iowa Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Eighth and Sixth Circuits. Jim's experience includes conducting hearings before administrative agencies, such as the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, conducting jury and bench trials in the Iowa District Courts and United States District Courts in both the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa and arguing appeals before both the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. Much of his practice involves representing businesses in disputes with governmental agencies, including the Iowa Departments of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Surface Transportation Board, Federal Railroad Administration, the Agriculture and Land Stewardship Agency, the Iowa Utilities Board, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Office of Surface Mining.

Jim is past two-time Chair of the Iowa Bar Association's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section and has also served as Chair of that Section's DNR Procedural Rules Revision Committee. Jim has also served as Chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Iowa Bar Association. He was also a member of the Iowa State Bar Association's Task Force on Administrative Law, which prepared an extensive redraft of Iowa's administrative laws. Since 2006, Jim has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for environmental law.

Jim received his B.S., magna cum laude, in 1980 from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his J.D., with distinction, from the University of Iowa in 1984. He was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1985.

James L. Pray
Attorney at Law
____________________________

Contact Info | Download vCard
515-242-2404 direct
515-323-8504 fax
515-979-0993 cell

666 Grand Avenue
Suite 2000, Ruan Center
Des Moines, IA 50309
____________________________

Assistant:
Crystal Kansala
515-248-6633
crystalk@brownwinick.com

____________________________
Practice Areas
Administrative Law
Agribusiness
Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring
Environmental Law
Litigation / Trial Law
Public Utility Regulation
____________________________
Industries Served
Agribusiness and Livestock
Cooperatives
Swine
Telecommunications
Wind Energy - Renewable Energy - Fossil Fuels - Nuclear Energy
____________________________
Related Information
Representative Cases
Representative Transactions
Memberships / Associations
Publications
Speaking Engagements / Seminars
Newsletter Articles
BrownWinick News / Events
Legal News
____________________________
Education
Undergraduate:
University of Nebraska
B.S., magna cum laude, 1980

Legal:
University of Iowa
J.D., with distinction, 1984
____________________________
Admitted
Iowa, 1985
____________________________

The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. This disclosure is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa.