James’ practice spans a broad range of commercial disputes with particular focus on insurance and reinsurance, professional liability and commercial chancery work. A confident advocate and a team player, James is equally happy acting as sole counsel as he is as part of a larger legal team.
James is named a “Leading Junior” in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 in Professional Negligence, Insurance and Reinsurance and Property Damage. James is recognised for being user friendly and accessible being described as “just so easy to work”, “very approachable”, “very collaborative and very commercial” and having “a calming touch in stressful situations”; his advocacy skills including “great on his feet, calm and clear” and a “mature cross-examiner”. He is also recognised for his intellect and analytical ability being described as “clever, meticulous, insightful”, having “an incredible intelligence” and his drafting skills as “technically excellent and very persuasive”.
Before coming to the Bar, James read Jurisprudence at Somerville College, University of Oxford and was then a research assistant in the Commercial and Common Law Team at the Law Commission during which time he was involved in the passage of the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 and then the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012. As a result of this experience he has particular knowledge of insurance law and the insurance industry. During this time, he also taught contract and tort law at Queen Mary, University of London and Westminster University.
View full profile »Articles
- Covid-19: Business Interruption insurance, an FCA class action, and the long-tail risks to insurance brokers
- The Supreme Court provides clarity on causation in professional negligence claims
News
- Solicitors obtain summary judgment and strike out of a claim by a litigation funder
- Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea defend long running subsidence claim
Qualifications
- Walter Wigglesworth Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn (2011)
- European Commission Scholarship (unable to accept), Lincoln’s Inn (2009)
- Blackstone’s Mooting Competition (finalist) (2009)
- BVC, City Law School (2008 – 2009)
- Hardwicke Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn (2007)
- BA (Hons) Jurisprudence, Somerville College, University of Oxford (2004 – 2007)
Memberships
- COMBAR
- LCLCBA
- PNBA
- TECBAR
Recommendations
“James shows incredible energy, commitment and intellect.”… “James is just so easy to work with and so knowledgeable. He has a calming touch in stressful situations.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
“Easy to deal with both for solicitors and for clients. User-friendly and good legal analysis.”
Legal 500, 2024
“Hard working, pragmatic, approachable, clever, meticulous, insightful.”
Legal 500, 2024
‘James is great on his feet, calm and clear. He is also really excellent in conference. I always feel that I can chat anything and everything through with James, even on very difficult cases, or cases where there is no clear way through. Very collaborative and very commercial.’
Legal 500, 2023
‘James is a good lawyer and very approachable, particularly with clients, and very good at marshalling the litigation.’
Legal 500, 2023
“James is highly sought after.” “He is an excellent barrister.”
Chambers & Partners, 2023
“He is a really nice individual to deal with. He is user-friendly and I trust his advice.”
Chambers & Partners, 2023
“James has got incredible technical knowledge and is a very good and mature cross-examiner.”
Chambers & Partners, 2022
“James is a very effective operator – he has good communication skills and knows the law.”
Legal 500, 2022
“James is extremely easy to work with and reliable – gets down to the core of the case and avoids distractions.”
Legal 500, 2022
“He has all of the relevant precedents at the forefront of his mind. Presents well to professional and insurer clients and is a reassuring sounding board on complex issues.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Does a good and detailed job, with sound judgement and common sense. A true all-rounder, who is bright, personable and commercial – a great asset to any team!”
Legal 500, 2021
