James is recognised as a leading advocate in a total of nine practice areas by Chambers and Partners UK, Chambers Global, Legal 500, JUVE Patent Rankings and Who’s Who Legal.  He was recently named one of the "Hot 100" lawyers in the UK in 2023 by The Lawyer magazine. Appointed to Queen's Counsel in March 2020 at the age of just 38, he has argued cases at all levels of the judicial hierarchy, including in the UK Supreme Court.

He is regularly instructed in some of the largest litigation in the UK, including numerous of The Lawyer's Top 20 cases of recent years (such as Moderna v Pfizer & BioNTech (damages claim about COVID-19 vaccines); Jane Street v London Metal Exchange (cancellation of nickel contracts in March 2022); ENRC v SFO (closely-followed 47-day and 8-day Commercial Court trials in 2021 and 2023); Canary Wharf v European Medicines Agency (whether Brexit had frustrated the EMA's lease); Unwired Planet & Conversant v Huawei (Supreme Court proceedings establishing the global FRAND jurisdiction); Breyer v DECC (damages claim under the HRA 1998); Tchenguiz v SFO (alleged misfeasance in public office); Autostore v Ocado (foreign law on confidentiality); and SFO v ENRC (legal professional privilege in solicitors' investigations)).  He won an award from Global Investigations Review for his advocacy in SFO v ENRC

He practises in regulatory, commercial and public law, with sector expertise in competition, telecoms, sport, media and entertainment, procurement and intellectual property.  Prior to taking silk, he was on the Attorney General's "A" Panel and was featured in Legal Week's “Stars at the Bar” and The Lawyer's “Rising Stars”.

Experience

Shortlist

Competition

James has extensive experience of Competition work and is recognised as a leading advocate in these fields by Chambers Global, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal. He was nominated for Legal 500's Competition Silk of 2023 and Competition Junior of 2018 and 2019. 

He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the Bars and Law Societies of the UK on Competition Law. He is the Co-author of the Competition Law section of Bullen Leake & Jacob’s Precedents of Pleadings (19th Ed’n, London 2019) and the Editor of the EU and Competition Law section of Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria: The Modern Law of Copyright (5th Ed'n, London 2018).

He has written widely on competition law matters, including 'Arbitration clauses and competition law' (Oxford Journal of European Competition Law, Volume 9, Issue 7, 1 September 2018). In February 2021, James was interviewed by Concurrences, the well-known European Competition Law publication, as part of a Special Issue on Arbitration and Antitrust.

Cases

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Commercial

James acts regularly in substantial commercial disputes and arbitrations. He has spent a large part of recent years acting for the SFO in the closely-followed ENRC v SFO proceedings, including a 47-day Commercial Court trial.  He achieved significant attention for his advocacy work on the landmark SFO v ENRC case regarding privilege.

Cases

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Public & Regulatory

James has extensive experience of public law and regulatory matters including regularly appearing before the appellate courts.  Before taking silk, he was on the Attorney General's "A" Panel.  He is recognised in the field by the Legal 500.

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Sport

James appears and advises in sports law matters both commercial and regulatory. He is often instructed in disciplinary hearings and has appeared for a number of different governing bodies including in football, rugby union, cricket and horse racing. James is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.  He is a co-editor of “Challenging Sports Governing Bodies”, a contributor to "Sport: Law and Practice" and to "Football and the Law" and has written regularly on sports matters for journals.

Cases

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Telecommunications

James has very substantial experience and expertise in telecommunications disputes both commercial and regulatory, including in competition matters.  He has appeared in telecoms cases at all levels of the court system.  He is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.

Cases

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Intellectual Property

James has extensive experience of IP matters. He has appeared on numerous occasions in the Copyright Tribunal, Patents Court, IPEC, the High Court and the European Patent Office. He is the Editor of the EU and Competition Law section of Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria: The Modern Law of Copyright (5th Ed'n, London 2018). He is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field by the Legal 500 and was recommended in the JUVE Patent UK Rankings 2022.

Cases

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Media & Entertainment

James has very substantial experience of media and entertainment matters in both the commercial and regulatory fields, both in the ordinary courts and the Copyright Tribunal. He is the Editor of the EU and Competition Law section of Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria: The Modern Law of Copyright (5th Ed'n, London 2018).  He is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal.

Cases

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EU Law

James has a wide-ranging practice in EU law work, having been a Committee member of the Bar European Group for the last nine years.  His practice is focussed on the regulatory context and he has particular experience of dealing with retained EU law, having written and spoken widely on the topic.

Cases

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Procurement

James has extensive experience of procurement matters.  He is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field by Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.

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Damages Claims Against the State

James's substantial experience of both commercial, public and regulatory litigation has made him a regular choice for both claimants and defendants in damages claims against the state.

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Financial Services & Banking

James’ expertise in the crossover between EU, public and commercial law regularly leads to instructions in the Financial Services field.

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Achievements

Education

BA (Hons) First Class (Brasenose College, University of Oxford)

Diploma in Law with Distinction (University of Law)

Bar Vocational Course, Outstanding (Inns of Court School of Law)

Publications

Books

  • Editor of "Anti-competitive practices, EU law and free movement of goods", and Co-Editor of Brexit in Laddie, Prescott and Vitoria: The Modern Law of Copyright (5th Ed'n, London 2018).
  • Co-author of "Doping" in "Football and the Law" (London 2022).
  • Co-Editor of Challenging Sports Governing Bodies, Lewis, Taylor, De Marco and Segan (London, 2016).
  • Co-author of the Competition section in Bullen & Leake’s Precedents of Pleadings (19th Ed’n, London, 2019).

Articles

  • 'Arbitration clauses and competition law', Oxford Journal of European Competition Law, Volume 9, Issue 7, 1 September 2018, Pages 423–430.
  • ‘The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018: Ten Key Implications for UK Law and Lawyers’, U.K. Const. L. Blog (26th Jul. 2018).
  • ‘Parliamentary privilege, article 9 of the Bill of Rights and admissibility: what use can be made of Parliamentary materials in litigation?’, [2018] Judicial Review, vol. 23(1), 11-24.
  • 'The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Constructive ambiguity or a political choice not yet made?', European Advocate, Winter 2017-18 pp6-9.
  • 'Anti-Doping Prosecutions: Are We Striking the Right Balance?', [2017] I.S.L.R. Vol 17, Issue 4 pp71-75.
  • 'Exploring the “best value” duty', J.R. 2013, 18(1), 93-98.
  • ''Applicable Law ‘Shopping’? Rome II and Private Antitrust Enforcement in the EU', Comp. L.J. 2008 7 (3), 251-260.
  • Co-author, with Sir David Edward QC, of “Questions and Problems of Applying the Acquired Rights Directive in the United Kingdom”, published in Germany.

Blogs

  • Regular contributor to Blackstone Chambers Competition and Sport Law Bulletin blogs.

News

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