James Eaglesham Brings Nearly 20 years of Legal, Accounting and Finance Experience to the Firm’s Finance Department
February 21, 2020 --- Shutts & Bowen LLP today announced the addition of James Eaglesham as the firm’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). A financial executive with nearly 20 years of experience across multiple industries, he will be responsible for Shutts’ accounting strategy and overseeing the firm’s financial operations.
James was most recently Firm Controller at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Prior to that, he was Finance and Corporate Audit Senior Manager for Ryder System, Inc.
“We are extremely fortunate to have James’ expertise on our firm wide management team,” said Michael J. (“Micky) Grindstaff, Shutts & Bowen’s firm wide Managing Partner. “His experience overseeing financial operations in professional services firmswill strengthen our ability to analyze opportunities for further growth and productivity.”
James recognizes that evolving client needs and expectations in an increasingly competitive legal services market have challenged law firm financial professionals to provide value in new and creative ways.
“The CFO role has evolved far beyond providing historical standard financial and management reports. Clients’ increasing demands to lawyers for transparency on legal fees and for these fees to fall within their own budget constraints has required finance and accounting departments to evolve from a simple bill to a more complex and flexible finance solution to solve a legal problem. Alternative fee arrangements, E-Billing, Legal Project Management and Budget Compatibility are all expected by clients, which requires the participation and involvement of an evolved finance and accounting department,” James said. “I’m thrilled to join Shutts’ leadership team with a focus on continuing to find innovative ways to provide greater value to our clients and improve performance.”
James began his career in accounting, auditing and risk management at KPMG. He holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in accounting science from the University of South Africa. He is also a Chartered Accountant (CASA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA).
About Shutts & Bowen LLP
Shutts & Bowen, established in 1910, is a full-service business law firm with approximately 300 lawyers in offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. Learn more about Shutts & Bowen at www.shutts.com.