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James is a Senior Associate within the Restructuring, Turnaround and Insolvency team based in London.

James has broad, in-depth experience in cross-border restructurings, in particular advising both debtors and creditors in relation to work-outs of stressed and distressed businesses. James has experience acting for lenders, sponsors, corporates and security agents/trustees. James also has experience in advising private equity funds in relation to underperforming or distressed investments and debt trades and acting for insolvency practitioners across a broad range of both contentious and non-contentious advisory matters including insolvent business sales and antecedent transactions.

James has acted on multiple solvent reorganisations/refinancings and the full ambit of court sanctioned formal insolvency processes including the recapitalisation of Virgin Atlantic Airways via the UK's first Part 26A Restructuring Plan which won the IFLR Europe Awards 2021 - Restructuring deal of the Year.

James has acted on numerous distressed advisory matters including several accelerated M&A disposals of insolvent businesses both sell-side and buy-side.

James acted for a BVI registered technology company, in the Innovator litigation (Brown v Innovator One plc [2012] EWHC 1321 (Comm)). Assisted in successfully defending claims bough in the High Court pursuant to breaches of FSMA 2000 in a complex litigation commenced by 155 claimants worth approximately £55 million.

James acted for the Liquidator on a £14 million debt claim against a former trader of a CFD broker, Global Trader Europe Limited, as part of its liquidation. The claim involved litigation in England and asset tracing in Indonesia including applications to serve out of jurisdiction.

Experience & expertise

Selected matters

  • acted for Deutsche Bank AG (London Branch) in relation to the subordinated debt litigation arising out of the administration of Lehman Brothers UK.*
  • acted for US based global manufacturer on the structural reorganisation of its European Business via a Debt for Equity swap.*
  • acted for a large creditor in relation to the recapitalisation of Virgin Atlantic Airways via a Part 26A Restructuring Plan.*
  • acted on a Dutch share pledge enforcement and associated sale of a European education business.*
  • acted for a Private Equity fund in relation to the €350 million acquisition of an NPL portfolio from a major UK bank.*


*Experience prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills.