Lawrence Edward James Jr.

I am a real estate, business, and land use attorney and the founder of Conveyance Law, PLC in Des Moines. Before starting the firm in 2020, I was a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, where I led the firm's Iowa real estate practice and worked on complex transactions for national clients, including Historic Tax Credit, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and New Markets Tax Credit deals. I built Conveyance Law to bring the same depth of transactional work I did at a large national firm to Iowa developers, investors, lenders, and business owners, paired with the responsiveness and personal attention of a boutique practice.

My work centers on commercial and residential real estate: purchase and sale agreements, financing, leasing, title examination and title opinions, and closings. I also handle Historic Tax Credit and LIHTC transactions; zoning, platting, easements, and land use entitlements; and the formation of LLCs, corporations, and partnerships. Because of my background at a national firm, I frequently serve as Iowa local counsel for out-of-state firms and lenders on multi-party deals, issuing opinion letters and handling the Iowa-specific work they rely on.

I keep engagements practical and predictable. That means structuring and documenting deals that work in the real world and hold up over time, and using flat-rate fees wherever the scope allows so clients know their cost up front. I earned my J.D. from Drake University Law School and have been admitted to the Iowa bar since 2001. Away from the office, I am a strong advocate for thoughtful urban planning and infill development, which shapes how I counsel the people and communities building the future of greater Des Moines.