Jim Grice, chair of Akerman’s Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure Practice and a key adviser on hyperscale and AI-driven data center development, has been named to The Tech Capital’s Legal 50, an annual list highlighting lawyers shaping the global technology, digital infrastructure, and data center markets.
Leadership in a Rapidly Expanding Global Market
The Legal 50 identifies the top advisers whose work reflects the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure as AI, cloud computing, and high-performance workloads drive unprecedented demand for power, scale, and resilient computing environments. Jim was recognized for his leadership on sophisticated transactions across the United States and Europe, including major acquisitions, developments, financings, and strategic investments involving large-scale data center platforms.
Supporting the Infrastructure Powering AI and Next-Generation Computing
Jim’s recent work includes leading the Akerman team representing Switch, a major provider of hyperscale data center infrastructure, in one of the largest data center leases completed in the United States — a multibillion-dollar, build-to-suit hyperscale project with nearly 1 gigawatt of planned IT capacity. He also advises developers and investors on the acquisition and development of large-scale data center campuses across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, involving complex power procurement, permitting, redevelopment, and infrastructure constraints. These matters reflect Jim’s focus on the legal and operational challenges underpinning AI and next-generation computing, including access to power, scalability, and long-term resiliency.
Advising on AI-Driven Digital Infrastructure
Jim and his team advise clients across the full digital infrastructure lifecycle, including acquisitions and dispositions, development and leasing, power procurement, renewable integration, tax incentives, and regulatory matters. His practice centers on helping clients navigate the intersection of real estate, energy, and technology as AI and advanced computing reshape demand for data center capacity and power availability.
Akerman Leadership Perspective
“Jim advises clients operating at the intersection of AI, hyperscale infrastructure, and power-intensive development,” said Akerman Chairman and CEO Scott Meyers. “As AI and cloud technologies accelerate demand for data center capacity, our clients are facing increasingly complex development, financing, and power challenges. Jim and his team are helping them navigate those issues with clarity and precision, and this honor reflects the depth of his experience in this fast-evolving market.”
About Akerman
Founded in 1920, Akerman is recognized as one of the country’s premier law firms, with more than 700 lawyers and consultants across the United States.