Attorney at Law

P. O. Box 8050 (31412) 
24 Drayton Street, Suite 1000 
Savannah, GA 31401 
(912) 443-4042 Direct Line 
(912) 443-4062 Direct Fax 
jimpannell@graypannell.com 

Please visit www.martindale.com

James L. Pannell is a partner who works primarily in the areas of municipal bonds, civil litigation, and business law. Mr. Pannell has a broad background in various areas of the law, including admiralty and real estate. Mr. Pannell is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has an AV Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rating. He maintains active memberships in the National Association of Bond Lawyers, Maritime Law Association, American Association for Justice, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, State Bar of Georgia, Savannah Bar Association, and Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

Mr. Pannell received a B.B.A. degree in economics from the University of Georgia in 1970. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve (Corps of Engineers) in 1970 and served in the active reserves until 1978. In 1971, Mr. Pannell was legislative assistant to United States Senator Richard B. Russell and after Senator Russell’s death continued in the same position with U.S. Senator David H. Gambrell. In 1974, he received his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. 

A member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1985-1990, Mr. Pannell served on the Ways and Means, Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Health and Ecology Committees. During his service in the General Assembly, Mr. Pannell was particularly noted for his work on healthcare, historic preservation, tax, and environmental legislation. He also sponsored several important measures of local concern, including the Chatham Area Transit Authority Act, which reorganized public transportation in the Savannah area in 1986, the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (1988), and the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless (1989). 

He is a past president of the Savannah Bar Association (2001-2002) and is a past president of the Younger Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Georgia (1979-1980). Mr. Pannell has been recognized in each year from 2002 through 2009 as a Notable Georgian by Georgia Trend magazine and he has been selected in each year from 2004 through 2009 as one of Georgia’s “Super Lawyers” by Atlanta Magazine. He has been involved in a number of bar-related activities, including service on the State Bar Board of Governors (1978-1980, 1981-1985), Judicial Nominating Commission of Georgia (1979-1980), State Disciplinary Board (1978-1980), Organization of the State Bar Committee (1981-1987, 1996-present), the Legislative Advisory Committee (1988-present), and the Evidence Study Committee (1988-1992). He is a graduate of Leadership Savannah (1976) and Leadership Georgia (1978).