Jim Snipes Email Address

Court-Appointed Special Advocate

We help clients navigate issues at the intersection of law and policy around the world.

Following a stint as a consultant at the UN, I worked at Covington & Burling LLP as an associate, a partner and finally a Senior Counsel. In the early 1990’s, I launched the life sciences transactional practice at Covington, specializing in strategic collaborations and complex licensing transactions for Big Pharma and early-stage biotech companies. In the late 1990’s I headed the corporate practice in the firm’s London office, before opening the firm’s first US branch office in San Francisco in 1999. For many years I also headed the firm’s Japan Initiative. In addition to my life sciences practice, I had an active practice in the field of art law, serving as the primary collections counsel for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for over 25 years. For eight years I served on the firm’s Management Committee, with responsibility for oversight of the firm’s offices in Asia. I retired from the firm in 2021. Currently I am working as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for kids in foster care or in the juvenile justice system in Marin County, California. I am also active as a tutor and mentor at Bridge the Gap College Prep in Marin City, CA. In addition, I serve as a Trustee of Tamalpais Pacific, a non-profit that supports affordable housing in the North Bay, and on the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College.