Sales Improvement Consultants is proud to announce the winner of the SIC 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, James P. Cullen, an exceptional and distinguished individual whose professional and personal excellence serves as a stellar model for his professional colleagues and for the young men and women of our time. 

To be eligible for the SIC Lifetime Achievement Award, candidates must:

•  serve the business community with distinction, integrity and originality;
•  be a pioneer in his/her chosen field;
•  provide education and guidance to colleagues;
•  raise the standards of quality in the profession; and must have
•  earned widespread respect as a recognized authority.

JAMES P. CULLEN

Jim Cullen is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps with almost 27 years of combined active duty and reserve service.  He last served as chief judge (IMA) of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals and retired in 1996.  He had, as an additional duty in this position, the development and implementation of training programs for more than 2,000 Army Reserve judge advocate officers across the country, and evaluated all senior Army Reserve judge advocate nominations including judicial nominations.

Prior to serving as chief judge, he was assigned as staff judge advocate (senior judge advocate) for the 77th ARCOM, which was the overall headquarters for soldiers in the New York/ New Jersey region of the country, including the 800th MP Brigade, which had as its principal mission processing and securing prisoners of war.  About 22,000 soldiers were assigned to the “77th” during this period of his service.  Before service as the staff judge advocate of the 77th ARCOM, he was commander of the 4th Military Law Center.  This command had a mobilization mission in support of legal needs of Theatre and Corps commands in various parts of the world and sent its personnel to those commands throughout the year.

Jim originally entered on active duty as an enlisted soldier in 1969 and following basic combat training, he served as a battalion legal clerk in a unit that manned underground missile silos.  He was selected from among numerous applicants to a position in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps after admission to the New York State bar.  Following training at the Judge Advocate General’s School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, he served on active duty for five years.  He had wide- ranging responsibilities including courts-martial, maritime claims, military installation law, legal assistance to soldiers, and construction and repair contracts.  Like many of his fellow JAG officers in the post-Vietnam period, he transferred to the active U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps in 1974 after which he continued to serve for another 21 years.

Jim has received a number of awards and medals during the course of his military career, including the Distinguished Service Medal. 

Adam congratulating Jim

Jim has practiced in the real estate and construction law fields for 38 years.  He was head of the real estate and construction department at the law firm of DeForest & Duer for many years before he and the other attorneys from that firm joined Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C.  He currently heads the real estate and construction practice at Anderson Kill & Olick where he is the beneficiary of the warm collegiality of highly accomplished and dedicated colleagues.

In the construction arena, Jim has negotiated, drafted and helped litigate construction agreements for single projects costing more than $550,000,000.  His experience includes major infrastructure projects such as schools, teaching hospitals, water treatment plants and large combined occupancy structures utilizing development rights.  He has also negotiated numerous architectural, engineering and other design professional agreements, as well as  contracts with general contractors, construction managers, design/builders, project consultants, subcontractors and equipment vendors.  He has provided these services to many not-for-profit institutions.

Jim has probably handled more air rights lease projects than any other attorney in New York, where this form of development has been used more extensively than in other parts of the country.  He has negotiated single air rights leases with rental streams in excess of $4.2 billion, along with development agreements and related construction contracts for these projects.  The projects have primarily involved development of air rights over schools and the underutilized property of other non profit organizations.  He has also been involved in the acquisition, sale and leasing of large and small office buildings, loft buildings, warehouses, specialty and residential buildings, as well as the assemblage of commercial and residential sites.  Some acquisitions and developments have involved complex title arrangements.

Jim Cullen is a principal in numerous real estate entities owning office buildings, parking facilities, warehouses and distribution centers.  He has gained considerable experience in management, maintenance and leasing of these commercial and industrial properties.

Jim has four adult children.  His eldest daughter, Tara, a currency trading specialist, is married to an Army doctor who recently returned from Afghanistan and is now a cardiology fellow at Walter Reed Hospital.  His second daughter, Kerry, is a computer graphic arts consultant and is married to an attorney specializing in construction law who works with Jim.  His third daughter, Erin, is a judge at the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and is married to a doctor who is chief resident at Yale/New Haven Hospital.  Jim’s son, Sean, is an industrial real estate market analyst working for an international real estate brokerage firm.

Jack congratulating Jim

Jim has served on the boards of various non profit organizations, including acting as secretary of the board of the USO of Metropolitan New York, Inc., which looks after the morale and welfare of military personnel and their families.  He has also served as secretary-treasurer of the board of the New York Construction Industry Disaster Relief Fund.  He is past chairman of the Military Law Committee of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and co-chairman of the Metropolitan Bar Associations’ Military Law Committees’ Coordinating Council assembled during the first Gulf War to address the needs of local military families.  He is actively involved with a group of retired generals and admirals working with the widely respected NGO, Human Rights First, to restore American adherence to treaty obligations and domestic law applicable to interrogation and detention of prisoners taken in conflict.  Jim has been involved for many years with human rights groups focusing on Northern Ireland.  He has also actively assisted the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement who care for some of the poorest of the poor, and he has been richly rewarded by the company and prayers of these wonderful men and women.

On May 31 the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony was held and attended by a room full of admirers, family and notable guests. The award itself was presented by John L. Kraft, the winner of the SIC 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award, beginning a tradition whereby the award will be presented in the future by the previous winner. 

Another new tradition is the donation of $1,000 to the charity of the choosing of the honoree.  In this case the chosen charity was the USO of Greater New York.  The presentation of the $1,000 check was made to Mike Berman, past president of that organization and an impressive individual in his own right. 

Yet another new tradition will be that the winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award will participate significantly in the choice of future honorees.

Jim Cullen accepted the award with his characteristic humility, charm and humor and addressed the audience on the subject of interrogation and torture of captured prisoners, a subject which he lectures on often.

Jim with Britanny and Surry

The evening concluded with the annual Gita Radzik/Schlussel Memorial Concert featuring a mesmerizing and thrilling one- hour concert given by master violinist Brittany Sklar accompanied by the talented Surry Lee.  Brittany has won a statewide competition conducted by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for best violinist and performs all over the United States.

Unable to attend but wishing to extend his congratulatory wishes, Robert Horkovich, Managing Partner of Anderson Kill and a renowned lawyer, sent the following message, which was read to the assemblage.

 “I sincerely regret that I cannot be there with you tonight to recognize the many talents of Jim Cullen but unfortunately I am back on the road again.  Gene Anderson has told me often that I won’t make any money for the firm sitting behind my desk in New York.

We are all so very proud to have Jim as one of our partners at Anderson Kill.  We all know him to be a brilliant lawyer, a loyal partner and a good friend.

Before he started his almost four- decade career (just so far) as an outstanding expert in real estate and construction law, Jim was a general officer in the U.S. Army and the chief judge of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals.  Anyone who has watched an episode of the TV show “JAG” knows it means that Jim spent his time piloting his own fighter jet to the Caribbean where Jim would engage in shoot-outs using his .45-caliber side arm revolver while solving remarkably complex crimes involving starlets.  Having been a mere captain in the JAG Corp. (but in the best branch of the service – the U.S. Air Force), I know Jim’s duties were much more important to the country.  We all owe Jim a great debt for his career of service and sacrifice for our country.

Bob Horkovich Managing Partner

Jim continues to serve his country bravely.  Long before the resignation of the former attorney general, Jim and seven other retired general officers expressed to the president and to the U.S. Senate their real concern about the allegations of abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody.  Jim was concerned not only about the protection of basic human rights, but also about the treatment of U.S. soldiers in the custody of foreign nations looking to the U.S. to set the standard.  Eventually, more than 40 general officers joined Jim on this important human rights issue.  Jim was out there first.  Jim’s stance was an important act of bravery.  We all are so very proud of him.

Beyond his stance on human rights, Jim generously gives back to the community on a regular basis.  Among his many other activities, he is actively involved in and is a member of the board of directors of the USO.

And Jim is even listed in Wikipedia – the on line encyclopedia.  That guarantees him immortality!

We all are so very proud of Jim. We hope to work with him for his second four decades as one of the top real estate and construction lawyers anywhere.”