James is a leading commercial silk with a broad practice in complex and high-stakes litigation. He is regularly briefed by corporations, financial institutions, professional services firms, insolvency practitioners, litigation funders and regulators in disputes of significant legal, commercial and reputational consequence.
His practice spans corporate and shareholder disputes, competition and consumer law, banking and financial services, class actions, corporations and insolvency, energy, insurance and professional negligence. His matters frequently involve complex factual and financial issues, substantial transactions or assets, and commercially sensitive questions of governance and reputation.
James has acted in a number of landmark and closely watched matters across the financial services, infrastructure, retail banking and energy sectors. His experience includes major shareholder and contractual disputes, class actions, claims arising from corporate collapses, and proceedings involving alleged anti-competitive or misleading conduct, tax fraud and asset recovery. He appears at trial and on appeal and is frequently retained in urgent interlocutory proceedings, including applications for injunctions and other relief affecting significant transactions or assets.
James also has extensive experience in regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, acting both for corporations and for regulators. That experience gives him a practical understanding of regulatory risk and enforcement strategy, particularly in matters involving ASIC, the ACCC and the AER.
He has substantial Royal Commission experience, having advised and appeared for Westpac Group in the Financial Services Royal Commission and for the Commonwealth of Australia in the Aged Care and Disability Royal Commissions.
Before joining the Bar, James was a Senior Associate at Allens. He holds Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Sydney.
James chairs the trustee of The Barristers’ Sickness & Accident Fund, a general insurer providing sickness and accident insurance to members of the NSW Bar, and is a member of one of the NSW Bar’s Professional Conduct Committees.
