James Brennan

James A. Brennan (born February 9, 1979) is a Husband, Lawyer, Political Activist, avid Runner, and Founder of the ES Group. He recently married his wife, Shelley (Kessinger) Brennan, on October 8, 2006 in Savannah, GA. After 9 years of undergraduate and graduate studies and 5 years direct experience, James Brennan, Esq., LL.M., is respected for his understanding of like-kind exchanges and most notably functioning as a Qualified Intermediary for clients executing exchanges to defer capital gains taxes upon the sale of their investment real estate. He is a Moderately Conservative Republican who recently publicly supported local Republican Frank Fannon in Alexandria, VA.
Early life
James Brennan was born 13 weeks premature, weighing only three pound two ounces in Nyack, New York to Robert W. Brennan and Marcella (Nolan) Brennan. His father, Robert Brennan, was the former supervisor of the Wallkill, Orange County, New York. His mother, Marcella Brennan, was a nursing instructor at BOCES in Goshen, New York. Brennan is a second-generation American citizen with his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Athlone, Ireland. He has one brother and two sisters: Terrence Brennan, Jill Harrington,and Mary Anne Skea.
Education
Brennan has always enjoyed both school and sports. He played basketball and ran cross country for John S. Burke Catholic High School while maintaining strong enough grades to be granted early admission to the University of Scranton and receive the Loyola Scholarship for his academics. In 1995, he was granted entrance into a highly sought after Economics Honor Society, Omicron Delta Epsilon. While at Scranton Brennan was recognized both consistently on Dean's List and afforded the opportunity to partake in their Business Leadership Program, an advanced management training program, and PRISM, where Brennan and several Finance students managed a portion of the school's endowment in investments.
Brennan attended Wake Forest University School of Law to pursue a career in corporate and commercial law. Brennan was an editor in the law school newspaper and an Executive Editor in the school's Intellectual Property Law Journal. In 2002, Brennan received the CALI Award of Excellence in Antitrust. Into Brennan's third year he specialized in Securities Law and studied Securities as a Visiting scholar at George Washington University School of Law.
James is a licensed attorney and possesses an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Scranton and a law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. James additionally obtained his Masters of Law (LL.M.) Degree from Georgetown University Law Center focusing on matters of securities law and tax planning. During his studies, he favored Marty Ginsburg because of his Ginsburg's love for law and sense of humor. During his LL.M. Program Brennan was granted entrance into the Securities and Exchange Student Observer Program working with the Broker-Dealer Regulation Division. After his LL.M. Brennan continued his studies in tax, business planning and financial planning and obtained a Series 7 and Series 66 license.
Career
After Law School he was the Assistant General Counsel of the National Mining Association focusing on matters of corporate law, antitrust, and commercial agreements. In 2006, he began working for Wachovia Bank and quickly became Vice President of the Fixed-Income Division of the Investment Bank focusing on commercial real estate like-kind exchanges for REITs and Developers. In December 2008, he left Wachovia and started ES Group the same month.
James currently is the Managing Director and Corporate Counsel of Exchange Solutions Group. James’ responsibilities include serving as the primary point of contact for affluent and institutional clients. James works closely with a team of advisors to offer exchange solutions. He has been featured in the Washington Business Journal, CNNMoney, the Commercial Property News, and Costar regarding complex exchange strategies. The regional periodical Bisnow on Business deemed James "Mr. 1031" for his stature in the industry.
From 2005 to 2008, James served as an Adjunct Faculty member at George Washington University in their MBA Program teaching real estate development case studies.
Groups
*American Bar Association
*New Jersey Bar Association
*Maryland Land Title Association
*Virginia Land Title Association
*Federation of Exchange Accommodators
*FINRA
*Georgetown University Alumni Association
*University of Scranton Alumni Association
*Wake Forest University School of Law Alumni Association
*NorthFace Endurance Challenge UltraMarathon Running Club
Awards
*CALI Award of Excellence in Antitrust
Personal life
James Brennan married his wife, Shelley Lynn Kessinger, on October 8, 2006 in Savannah, Georgia. Both James and Shelley Brennan live together in Alexandria, Virginia along with their puppy, Kona. James' siblings are Jill Harrington of Fredericksburg, VA; Terrence Brennan of Alexandria, VA, and Mary Anne Skea of the Woodlands, TX. Being the youngest, he has 7 nieces and nephews: Kayleigh Harrington, Moira Skea, Kendall Harrington, J.T. Harrington, Brenna Skea, Nolan Harrington, and George Brennan. He spends as much time as he can with all of his family while maintaining a healthy work schedule.
Being an extrovert, James also has many friends including his colleague: Jonathan Hipp. After taking a Myers Briggs test, he scored an ENFJ (meaning Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judgment).
After going to a Catholic High School and a Jesuit University, James has made religion a priority. James and his wife, Shelly, currently attend Church at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, VA.
Hobbies
Brennan is an avid runner and has completed over 50 racesin his lifetime including: Marine Corps Marathon, Race for the cure, and the Abebe Bikila Half Marathon. He is also a Member of the NorthFace Endurance Challenge UltraMarathon Running Club and is currently training for an Ultramarathon which would be anywhere in between 31 to 100 miles.
Not only being a runner, but also enjoys playing basketball and going on hikes with his friends and family.

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