James is a commercial litigator specialising in claims against large institutional defendants. He has an in-depth understanding of disputes involving financial markets and products, private equity, hedge funds, data protection, shareholder and companies’ issues, fraud, and mis-selling. James forged his career at London’s leading litigation houses – Freshfields, Clyde & Co, and Mishcon de Reya – before establishing Milberg’s London office. He has worked on many of the UK’s highest profile and industry-recognised commercial disputes, frequently appearing in national and international press.
In 2016, James had two cases named in ‘The Lawyer’s’ Top 20 Cases of The Year. One of those cases involved a claim worth more than £2bn against Citibank, arising from a private equity house’s acquisition of music label EMI. The other case was a claim against Barclays on behalf of a small business owner who had been mis-sold a product alongside thousands of others. After a hearing on that case, James was named The Times Lawyer of the Week.
In the same year, James launched the ground-breaking data protection claim Lloyd v Google which went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2021. As he told the Financial Times at the time, the case was an important step in the economic reckoning of consumers’ personal data, which historically there has been limited protection for.
James achieved all of this before he turned 40.
Due to changes to the UK litigation landscape over the last decade, including more money coming into the market, technology, and procedural innovation, James believes that more group actions can be successfully pursued. He felt the time was right to establish a forward-looking UK law practice that reflected the growing importance of group actions, which he views as essential for holding corporate giants to account.
James is part of the team at Milberg London acting on behalf of tens of thousands of motorists in various emissions group claims. In addition, he assists on competition matters and leads on case origination, ATE insurance and litigation funding across the business. James continues to work on general commercial disputes and investigations within Milberg London’s Commercial Litigation practice.
James is ranked Band 2 by Chambers in its 2024 guide for Group Litigation: Claimant. James is also recognised as a Leading Individual by The Legal 500.
