Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Corporate/M&A

James is a senior corporate and governance lawyer who was the Chair and Senior Partner of our firm.

He is one of the UK's leading M&A, capital markets and corporate lawyers, with deep experience of corporate governance and regulation, including financial regulation.

He is frequently involved in helping clients in situations where they face significant and unusual challenges. These include hostile takeovers, board and governance disputes, regulatory and other investigations, business crises, interactions with governments or government bodies, significant liability or solvency exposures, as well as significant transactions.

He is also recognised as a leading expert in relation to both Brexit and foreign direct investment regulation.

James is a General Editor of and contributor to Butterworth's Takeovers: Law and Practice, and has also contributed to other leading reference works on takeovers and corporate law, including Buckley on the Companies Acts and Hannigan and Prentice's Guide to the Companies Act 2006.

He was Chair and Senior Partner of the firm from 2015 to 2021.

James joined the firm as a trainee solicitor in 1986, becoming a partner in 1994. He was a member of the firm's governing Partnership Council from 2002-2006. He led the firm's global equity capital markets practice from 2005-2010 and was the firm's Global Head of Corporate from 2010-2012.

James graduated with a law degree from Queens' College, Cambridge University.