Meet the Tiedemann team
Our commitment to clients is solidified in our structure as a partnership set up to hand down equity to future employees. Meet the Tiedemann team here.
James Bertles
Managing Director
[email protected]
Jim is responsible for working with Tiedemann clients and their advisors and developing trust, tax and estate planning solutions for clients. He also leads the firm’s business development strategy team and oversees the firm’s relations with outside attorneys.
Prior to joining Tiedemann in 2008, Jim was President and Chief Operating Officer of Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Company, responsible for all trust, fiduciary and tax activities in the United States. From 1999 to 2004, he was a Managing Director of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., responsible for all investment and fiduciary activities in Florida. Prior to Brown Brothers Harriman, Jim practiced law in Connecticut, New York and Florida at the law firms of Cummings & Lockwood (Associate), Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft (Partner and a member of the firm’s Management Committee), and Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart (Partner).
Certifications and memberships include:
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- Board-certified (Emeritus Specialist), Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts and Estates
- Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Chancellor and Member of the Vestry, Bethesda-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church (Former)
- Chairman of the Executive Committee of Professional Advisors, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties (Former)
- Member, Executive Committee of the Trust and Investment Division of the New York Bankers Association (Former)
- Member of the Executive Committee, Trust Management Association, Inc. (Former)
- Director and Chairman of the Planned Giving Committee, Norton Museum (Former)
Jim earned a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Amherst College, and is a graduate of The Choate School. Originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, Jim has lived in Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife, Lisa, since 1985, where he is an active member of the community. They have three grown children.