James D. Wade

So who is James Wade? I am the sole attorney and owner of this fine firm, the Law Office of James D Wade. Let me tell you a bit about myself so you know who I am and where I come from. First, I am a Mainer born and bred. I grew up in Winslow, Maine for most of my life. It was a nice place to grow up even if nothing ever exciting happened there. Exciting stuff only happened to people from away. In 1992, I decided to see some of the world and so I joined the U.S. Marines.

I won’t bore you with war stories (aka faerie tales) but during my time in the Marine infantry I did see a fair bit of the world. I venture to say that even as a “grunt” I had some fun while serving. If you have a chance to speak with me, ask me about my trip to Iwo Jima and to Guantamano Bay. Still, as enjoyable as it was, I decided that it was time to grow up and do something with my life so in 1996 I left the Marines and headed to college to become an accountant. Numbers seemed like a good idea after four years of dirt and heaving lifting in the infantry.

First, I graduated from Casco Bay College in 1998 with an Associates in Business Administration. Then I went to Thomas College where I graduated in 2000 with a degree in Public Accounting. Thankfully in 2000 jobs were plentiful and so I was soon as a tax accountant right out of college. Three years later I passed the CPA Exam and I have been a CPA ever since. From that point on, with the exception of my tour in Iraq with the National Guard, I worked with individuals and small businesses on their tax planning and preparation needs. The work was interesting but not very fulfilling. While I found that I really enjoyed advising clients on tax issues, legal issues kept cropping up. No business owner loves hearing, “You need to talk to an attorney about that,” constantly. “It depends” is right up there too.

So in 2010, at 37, I made another major change in my life. I left the comfort of a full-time job (with benefits) and headed to the University of Maine School of Law. A fortunate trip it was as I met a wonderful woman, Katrina, there but more on that later. While there I focused my education on tax and business law classes so that I could finally provide clients 360 degrees of advice on their businesses. Strangely enough, I also found that I enjoyed bankruptcy law. I like to think of business and bankruptcy law as peanut butter and chocolate, for some strange reason they both go together (just ask Reese’s).

The fun had to end at some point so in 2013 I finally wrapped up my education at Maine Law. Shortly thereafter I passed the Maine bar and was sworn in as an attorney in October of 2013. At first, I tried to find work with a firm but jobs were a bit tight so I decided to take the plunge and hang a shingle. I decided to focus my practice on tax and bankruptcy and so far that has worked out well. My tag line is: “Helping Mainers in good times and bad.” I think that is an accurate description of what I do. Good advice is hard to come by and so my goal is to become a trusted adviser for you. Helping people realize the best possible outcome, no matter your circumstance, is what I do.

Now earlier I promised to talk a bit more about Katrina, the girl I met at Maine Law. Well, in October of 2014, I married her and together we live in Kennebunk. Happily, our honeymoon ended a few years later when we welcomed our son Sam into the world. He keeps us plenty busy with diaper changes and attempts at self-destruction. As we speak, he is trying to help his father type this bio. Last time he helped me he turned my screen from horizontal to vertical. I have no idea how he did it to this day.

When I am not tied up with work or child-rearing, I read history and court cases for fun, yes I am that much of a nerd, and hike around this wonderful state. I am also an amateur photographer which combines well with my other passion, hiking, as Maine as so many wonderful places to enjoy. Thank you for taking the time to read my bio. I am even more interesting in person, so feel free to call or email me. I promise I have a story or two to tell. If you buy me a coffee, I may even tell you a tale or two.