James Pipkin

Attorney

• jpipkin@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

James Pipkin is an attorney in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he was a partner from 1971 to 1993.

Mr. Pipkin handles a variety of matters involving surface transportation, appellate litigation, and dispute resolution. He helps parties achieve mutually desirable results through negotiation, arbitration, and mediation. He has negotiated complex financial transactions generally involving the sale or lease of real property, joint venture agreements, and cost-sharing arrangements.

Mr. Pipkin led the team that negotiated the transfer of ownership of Penn Station Newark from Amtrak to New Jersey Transit. He also headed the negotiation of an arrangement among Amtrak and the other users of Penn Station New York, including complicated real property rights, development of future air rights, control of space, liability issues, and allocations of responsibilities for operations, maintenance, and capital expenditures. Previously Mr. Pipkin represented the owners of Washington Terminal Company on development and cost-allocation issues at Union Station in Washington DC.

At the Department of State, Mr. Pipkin served as special negotiator in the bilateral treaty talks aimed at restoring West Coast wild salmon populations. He also served as counselor to the Secretary of the Interior, where he was chief federal negotiator for Everglades restoration, and chaired the team that determined how the government should implement the scientific plan for managing ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest (the spotted owl controversy). He developed a course on collaboration in resource management and co-chaired the team that recommended how the Administration should apply the principles of ecosystem management in order to achieve both sustainable economic development and healthy natural systems.  

Noteworthy & Success Stories

• Conducted international negotiations and mediation.
• Argued cases before the US Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
• Served as one of three members of the National Arbitration Panel, which resolves all contractual disputes between Amtrak and the 15 major railroads whose facilities it uses.
• Appointed ambassador in his capacity as special negotiator for the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty.