James T. Zelloe — Axia Worldwide

James T. Zelloe | Managing Director

Mr. Zelloe has provided over 35 years of legal and economic representation and solutions to an international business consortium and development company headquartered in Washington, D.C., Aspen, Colorado, Mexico, and Beverly Hills, CA. In 2010, he achieved the highest residential real estate sales price in the United States. Spending over a decade coordinating acquisition, assemblage, and after years of legal maneuvering, the undertaking culminated in successful litigation as rendered by the Supreme Court of California. This resulted in complete unimpeded ownership for the client of the largest aggregation of continuous parcels of unencumbered, undeveloped residential land with views of downtown Los Angeles and the ocean to the west in Beverly Hills, CA.

Furthermore, Mr. Zelloe has been General Counsel (2014-2017) to one of top male singers worldwide and recipient of continuous stream of awards including 5 Grammy Music Awards, Latin Grammy’s, and Billboard Awards, selling over 100 million albums to date. He has been involved in all aspects of legal issues of client and his organization, including, but not limited to, personal issues, touring, contract creation and review, negotiations with third parties, and Federal litigation. He drafted and negotiated the famous “life story” contract with MGM for production and distribution of the singer’s life story.

After spearheading a litigation team and obtaining a jury verdict for an Egyptian owned client against a Saudi Arabian Company and its President, Mr. Zelloe won an aggregate sum of over $13,000,000 in the Federal Eastern District of Virginia involving commercial oral contracts pertaining to a project of the King of Saudi Arabia. After considerable legal rulings, the Eastern District U.S. District Court rendered final judgment against the company accordingly and facilitated the transmission and presentation to the Court of the King of Saudi Arabia where final resolution was obtained for clients. Mr. Zelloe is now designated as an honorary member of the Bar of the Egyptian Supreme Court.

Mr. Zelloe serves as counsel for a diverse range of multinational entities, both in the United States and abroad. These entities are actively engaged in a multitude of business transactions across the globe, spanning regions such as the United States, Europe, East Asia, India, the Middle East, and Africa. These transactions encompass various sectors, including commercial and residential developments, airline operations, petroleum products, commodities trading, foodstuff production and distribution, and power plants, among others.

His role extends from providing representation for specific projects to maintaining long-term relationships with these entities. In these ongoing relationships, Mr. Zelloe offers legal support along with economic analysis tailored to the specific needs of the projects, principles, and entities involved. This comprehensive approach involves interactions with various stakeholders and navigating complex governmental regulatory agencies.

Mr. Zelloe possesses substantial experience in various aspects of real estate, business, and commercial law. Throughout his career, Mr. Zelloe has successfully managed a wide range of transactions, including acquisitions, apartment-to-condominium conversions, land assemblage and development, private placements, real property leases, personal property leasing, credit lines, secured transactions exceeding $60,000,000, asset purchases and sales, contract negotiations, drafting commercial agreements, private stock transactions, franchise agreements, as well as the sale and purchase of restaurants. He has also dealt with Alcoholic Beverage licenses, special use permits, zoning issues, and interactions with various governmental regulatory agencies. Additionally, Mr. Zelloe has experience in corporate, LLC, and LLP formations.

In his capacity as general counsel for two lending and joint-venture companies, Mr. Zelloe has been actively involved in numerous commercial transactions and investments, providing capital for a wide array of ventures and transactions, ranging from private placements to secured and unsecured financing.

Mr. Zelloe proudly served as a member of the Board of Advisors for Virginia Commerce Bank, which was one of the largest community banks in Virginia with over 20 branches before its merger.

One of his notable achievements includes a case that garnered significant attention and was featured on the front page of Lawyer's Weekly as the most requested case for five weeks. In this case, Mr. Zelloe successfully utilized a groundbreaking Virginia Supreme Court decision to obtain an injunction against a client's former employees who intended to establish a similar company and directly compete with his client. He also took a leading role in coordinating and spearheading successful civil litigation on behalf of a major client against a former business partner, which involved the largest collection of Ritz Carlton properties in the United States. This litigation unfolded in Federal Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, Federal and State Courts in Denver, and State Court in Arlington, VA.

In his capacity as general counsel to a major real estate development company, Mr. Zelloe directed the legal staff and collaborated with external counsel to develop and implement strategies for retiring $2 billion in debt during the real estate downturn of 1988-1991. He managed negotiations with major creditors and lending institutions and took responsibility for all civil litigation related to these matters.

Additionally, Mr. Zelloe served as an officer and director of a publicly traded company with operations in Bulgaria and Switzerland. In this role, he managed civil litigation and related filings, ensured compliance with SEC regulations, and addressed issues related to insider corruption. Furthermore, as general counsel to a real estate settlement and escrow company, Mr. Zelloe handled secured transactions on behalf of major real estate lenders in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. This included working with institutions such as GE Capital, MBNA, NationsBank, First Union, and Merrill Lynch.

Recently, acting as counsel for an entity involved in the acquisition of a strategic partner in the military-industrial world, Mr. Zelloe was appointed by the entity as CEO and has been general counsel of its operations since 2017.