James specialises in high-value and complex professional negligence claims for financial institutions. With over 10 years of experience, James has acted for lenders and other businesses in professional negligence claims against property valuers, solicitors, project monitoring surveyors, quantity surveyors, accountants, auditors, and agricultural nutritionists.
With notable expertise in both claimant and defendant work for financial institutions, James handles cases for clearing banks, challenger banks, private banks, specialist lenders, and brokers. His experience encompasses secured and unsecured lending, peer-to-peer lending, bridging finance, business lending, and cashflow finance. This includes dealing with secured and unsecured assets, residential and commercial properties, and invoice finance.
His wider litigation experience involves managing cases related to insurance, fraud (including mortgage fraud), breach of director’s duties, conspiracy, and international debt claims. Additionally, he has advised and overseen numerous large portfolios of claims for financial institutions, both as claimant and defendant.
James is a sworn and registered member of the New York State Bar, having successfully completed the New York State Bar exams.
Professional negligence experience examples:
- Acting for an agricultural lender and successfully obtaining judgment in excess of £16m in the High Court against the insurer who had wrongly avoided the surveyor’s professional indemnity policy for non-disclosure and misrepresentation, UK Acorn Finance Ltd v Markel (UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 922 (Comm). Underlying judgments were obtained against the surveyor where professional negligence was asserted over 10+ agricultural properties.
- Acting for a British bank in a claim against the appointed surveyor arising from various valuations provided for a commercial and residential development.
- Acting for a national bridging lender in respect of commercial leisure property comprising of a number of marinas.
- Acting for a large business lender in respect of a failed development of 130+ residential and commercial units in Liverpool in claims against the valuing and project monitoring surveyors with losses exceeding £15m.
Other financial disputes experience examples:
- Advising on routes of recoveries against professionals following mortgage fraud.
- Advising a large residential lender and managing the defence of a large portfolio (200+) of claims brought by borrowers concerning regulated lending issues arising from MCOB and Consumer Credit Act 1974.
- Advising a national peer-to-peer lender for a large portfolio of claims concerning breaches of lending agreements and claims under personal guarantees.
- Acting for a Bank in an issued claim under a personal guarantee and defending allegations of conspiracy.
- Acting for a property developer in defending a conspiracy claim arising from the practical completion certificate.