Education & Professional Qualifications
BA (Hons), Cambridge University (1973)
Advocate (1978)
Dunoon Grammar School
Professional Career to date
Devil Masters: The Right Hon.The Lord Hope of Craighead KT, PC, LLD, The Hon. Lord McGhie.
2007: Certified as Mediator with Core Solutions
2006: Judge of Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey
1991: Silk
1984 - 1988: Standing Junior Counsel to Department of Transport in Scotland
1988 - 1991: Standing Junior Counsel to Inland Revenue in Scotland
1978: Advocate
Professional Experience
James advises on commercial matters, financial issues, corporate reconstructions, trust and occupational pension matters. His work as one of the Judges of the Courts of Appeal in Jersey and Guernsey centres on the fields of major commercial litigation, property law and both local and international trust governance. He is also an accredited mediator.
Courts & Tribunal Experience
House of Lords; Inner and Outer House of the Court of Session; Lands Tribunal for Scotland; European Court of Human Rights
(1983 - 5).
Appointments & Memberships
Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey
Member of the Scottish Law Commission Working Party on the Law of Trusts
Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Cases
Scottish Lion Insurance [2011] CSIH 18
Company and Insolvency Law. Rights of dissenting policyholders to have access to voting information in respect of Court meetings for winding up of a solvent Insurance Company
Lithgows Pension Scheme [2011] CSIH 6
Right of trustees of an occupational pension scheme regarding publication if information as part of Pension Protection Funds Levy system
G Hamilton [2011] CSIH 1
Statutory interpretation issues regarding review of old mining permissions
City Inn [2011] CSIH 68
Construction of building contract and issues of alleged waiver
Legal Services Centre v Miller Samuel [2009] CSOH 141
Professional negligence issues, including whether solicitor instructed to produce a clause in a lease to achieve a particular result or whether role to put into legal format what he had understood to have been agreed between principals.
Inveresk v Tullis Russell 2009 SC 663
Commercial contract issues, including whether rights of retention could be invoked even although the respective obligations were contained in two separately executed agreements.
Duncan v American Express 2009 SLT 112
Banking and finance issues, including whether the pursuer, by his settlement with his bank had precluded himself from pursuing claims against the defenders for recovery in respect of the same fraudulent transactions.
CSC Braehead v Laing O'Rourke 2009 SLT 454
Macdonald Trustees 2009 SC 6
Royal Insurance v Amec 2008 SLT 825
Arrow Generics Limited Petitioners 2008 SC 518
Chisholm, Petitioner 2006 SLT 394