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2026 SPEAKER LINEUP

The 2026 Exit Planning Summit features a variety of industry experts and exit planning thought leaders for introductory to advanced exit planning sessions.

 

Jim Carlisle

Meet Jim Carlisle, J.D., CExP:

Jim is a business lawyer who has been practicing law for 32 years, proudly representing many significant business clients, serving as their outside general counsel, serving on boards of directors, and offering his...

ABOUT JIM

Meet Jim Carlisle, J.D., CExP:

Jim is a business lawyer who has been practicing law for 32 years, proudly representing many significant business clients, serving as their outside general counsel, serving on boards of directors, and offering his judgment based on his experience related to important issues that clients encounter. Throughout the years, Jim has represented clients in connection with hundreds of complex domestic and international merger and acquisition transactions and hundreds of growth and exit plans.

 
Jim feels that there are many outstanding business lawyers throughout the United States who can tell a similar story of their background. However, here are a few facts of distinction:
 
Jim is a partner with one of the country’s best law firms, with approximately 800 lawyers with world class expertise. He is the Chair of Dinsmore’s Growth & Exit Planning Group with operations in all of his firm’s 29 domestic offices. Throughout his career, Jim has been focused on Growth & Exit Planning - preferring to engineer M&A transactions for the benefit of his clients - rather than waiting for the telephone to ring with clients and transactions that are not ready for the scrutiny of buyer due diligence and have not optimized the value of the business to permit the highest net purchase price (structured to minimize taxes).
 
Jim and his team would prefer to take the time and to apply their expertise to “stage” the business for a sale for the highest purchase price to the right buyer. On a case-by-case basis, the right buyer may be a strategic third-party buyer, a relative, all or part of the current management team, a financial third party buyer or an ESOP. They fully explore all potential scenarios with clients so that the right decisions are made based on the client’s goals and objectives.
 
He cares deeply for his clients, as told in his own words, “When my children were young, they asked me what I did for a living. At that time, they were too young for the details. So, I told them that I help my clients resolve their most important problems as if those problems were my problems. That is still what Jim enjoy doing for clients.” Jim loves his job. He loves helping his clients realize the full value of their business that represents their life’s work so that they can fully enjoy their desired retirement lifestyle and provide for their heirs as they desire.
 
Jim earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and holds the Certified Exit Planner (CExP) credential.
 
Jim and his wife of 32 years, Erin, reside in Murrysville with their two children. In his free time, he is involved with many forms of exercise including basketball, yoga, Crossfit, tennis, martial arts, volleyball, and running.

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