Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge

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James is a commercial litigator whose practice includes advising companies and Governments on complex contractual disputes, often involving technical issues. In addition to English High Court litigation, he has considerable experience of international arbitration and multi-jurisdictional disputes.

He also has a broad anti-corruption practice. That involves advising on effective training and compliance programs, internal reviews and enquiries, and responding to external investigations, and advising Governments and their anti-corruption agencies seeking to trace, freeze and recover the corruptly acquired assets of dishonest public officials. His experience includes civil proceedings to recover the proceeds of corruption, enforcing foreign confiscation orders, advising on requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal proceedings and using insolvency remedies to recover assets. He speaks regularly at international anti-corruption conferences organised by international donors. He provides significant pro-bono support to anti-corruption NGOs.

James also acts in claims for judicial review and professional negligence.

• Advised Nigeria in various proceedings against the family, associates and corporate vehicles of former leader General Sani Abacha, and also in a series of claims in England and elsewhere against Nigerian state governors who amassed substantial wealth whilst in office.
  
  
• Advised developing countries on the legislation and systems required to recover the proceeds of corruption.
  
  
• Acted for a FTSE100 company in a claim against the former managing director of a newly acquired subsidiary for the diversion of business opportunities and assets to a competing company he controlled.
  
  
• Defended an ICC arbitration claim for US$250 million against an African state arising from the termination of a concession agreement to rehabilitate and operate an industrial complex
  
  
• Advised on a number of disputes arising from the failure of high-value products and goods, including a £250 million claim arising from a pipeline failure allegedly caused by breaches of specification
  
  
• Advised on claims arising from the failure of a structured investment vehicle exposed to the US sub-prime market
  
  
• Acting on a judicial review challenge to the Inland Revenue's decision retrospectively to increase the rates payable on an industrial site

• "UK takes further steps towards modernising its Anti-bribery Laws," co-author, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Briefing Note, August 2009.
  
  
• "The FCPA and International Anti-Corruption for the Insurance Industry," Co-presenter, a webinar presented by Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, 20 April 2009.
  
  
• "Complying with Corruption and Bribery Laws," Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Insurance and Reinsurance Review, March 2009.
  
  
• "Recovering the proceeds of corruption: international success stories", speaker, ERA Annual Forum on combating corruption and fraud in the EU, February 2009.
  
  
• "Proposed reform of UK bribery laws," Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Guidance Note, February 2009.
  
  
• "Recovering the Proceeds of Corruption," speaker, School of Oriental and African Studies, February 2009.
  
  
• "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: implications for insurance companies and brokers," speaker, London Market Seminar, November 2008.
  
  
• Editor of the firm's monthly contract law briefing in the "In-house Lawyer," from 2006.
  
  
• "Companies Take Aim At Bribing Competitors," co-author, Dow Jones Corporate Governance, October 8, 2008.
  
  
• "Doing Deals and Litigating Them in a Downturn," speaker, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Greater New York Chapter, New York, September 23, 2008.
  
  
• "Insurers Cannot Assume They Are Safe From FCPA," author, Insurance Day, August 29, 2008.
  
  
• "Suing Bribing Competitors:  The Next Tool in the International Anti-Corruption Arsenal?," co-author, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge Client Advisory, May 2008.
  
  
• Speaker, New Strategic Directions in Controlling Corruption:  The Recovery of Stolen Assets, Bangkok, Thailand, March 10-12, 2008.
  
  
• "Recovering Stolen Assets", contributer, published by Basel Institute on Governance, edited by Mark Pieth, January 2008
  
  
• "Threshing through the undergrowth for claims: an update," author, Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, January 2008.
  
  
• Co-author of the firm's publications "Recovering corruptly acquired assets in the UK", "Mutual legal assistance" and "The disclosure order and the freezing injunction"
  
  
• "Asset recovery & international co-operation in anti-corruption investigations," speaker, Commonwealth Secretariat Training Workshop, Jaipur, India December 2007.
  
  
• "Dealing with politically exposed persons: the risks," author, Journal of International Banking Law, December 2007.
  
  
• "Controlling the undergrowth: using entire agreement clauses to limit claims," author, Journal of International Banking Law, November 2007.
  
  
• "Repatriating Looted Assets: Are We Doing Enough?" speaker, Transparency International UK meeting, June 2007.
  
  
• "International Cooperation against Corruption Workshop," speaker, Islamabad, Pakistan December 2006.
  
  
• "Recovering assets secreted abroad," speaker, World Bank integrity workshop, 2006.
  
  
• “Corruption and Misuse of Public Office,” published by the Oxford University Press in 2006, assisted co-author Tim Daniel.

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James is a qualified PADI scuba diving instructor, and spends much of his spare time teaching people to dive or diving the shipwrecks of the South Coast of England.