James Shirley

James Shirley has a broad commercial practice covering all aspects of international trade, shipping and maritime work, contracts for the sale and carriage of goods, banking and insurance/re-insurance. James's practice also extends to professional negligence, import/export controls and more general civil work. He has appeared before a wide variety of tribunals and has experience of ADR.

James was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2002. He was educated at UCL (law degree, 1st class) and New College, Oxford (BCL, Distinction, specializing in Conflicts and Restitution).

Practice

General Commercial

• Contractual disputes including international and domestic contracts for the sale of goods and commodities; regularly advises on the interpretation of contracts; recently advised on issues of contract formation/variation arising out of international sales contracts; also on commission and secret profits under an agency agreement and on various disputes under a long-term vehicle hire agreement;
• Banking; including mortgage proceedings and restitutionary claims; representing mortgagee bank in possession claim defended on grounds of forgery, requiring expert handwriting evidence; associated subrogation claims; data protection and defamation issues in relation to mortgage lenders;
• Insurance/reinsurance including marine and non-marine, policy/coverage disputes and disclosure/non-disclosure;
• Arbitration; recently involved in an 8-week, document-heavy arbitration at the IDRC in London
  

Shipping and International Trade

• Interlocutory work including freezing injunctions; recently appeared for cargo buyers claiming under a bill of lading seeking a US$4M freezing injunction in the Commercial Court;
• Conflict of laws/jurisdictional issues; recently advised on anti-suit injunctions in support of London arbitration; regularly drafts applications to set aside service/stay proceedings;
• "Dry" shipping, all aspects including a wide variety of bills of lading/charterparty disputes, indemnity claims, and cargo claims; recently drafted complex defence submissions in response to a demurrage claim in arbitration; recently drafted towage claim raising issues of un-tow-worthiness, sea waybill claim and involved in complex off-hire arbitration;
• "Wet" shipping/admiralty claims, including jurisdictional and procedural issues; recently advised on jurisdictional issues arising out of a salvage operation in international waters; also appeared in the High Court in proceedings arising out of a collision at sea; recently involved in multimillion dollar salvage arbitration; recently advised on cargo salvage values;
• Ship sale and purchase including options in charterparties and availability of specific performance; recently advised on a long-running ship sale dispute raising issues of contract formation and complicated quantum issues and on the purchase of a yacht berthed outside the EU; ongoing arbitration relating to caused by premature service of NOR;
• Sale/carriage of goods by road, rail and sea including domestic and international commodity disputes; recently appeared for shippers in an application for pre-action disclosure aimed at establishing wilful misconduct under the CMR; also advised on and appeared in a County Court claim brought by freight-forwarders against successive carriers of goods on CMR terms; frequently draft pleadings in carriage by road cases involving CMR/RHA Conditions;
• Import and export controls; recently advised on the Export Control Act 2002 and associated statutory instruments.

General Civil

• General contractual claims; recent work includes defending a claim seeking recovery of an informal £30,000 loan and defending a claim against a letting agent arising out of complex third party fraud;
• Tort claims including road traffic accidents and accidents on boats; numerous appearances and cross-examination experience in County Court road traffic accident trials; recently advised on a trespass to goods/conversion claim raising issues of involuntary bailment;
• Trusts; involved in Chancery Division proceedings asserting liability pursuant to constructive trusts;
• Consumer credit claims; several recent fast track trials on behalf of finance companies; issues of agency; satisfactory quality, compromise, promissory estoppel, trespass to goods and allegations of improper representations to credit reference agencies;
• Enforcement proceedings; especially charging orders; recently advised and appeared on behalf of bank seeking charging order on trust property;
• Committal proceedings for contempt of court arising out of failure to comply with court order;
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy proceedings including winding-up petitions and setting aside statutory demands.

Education

LLB (First Class) – UCL
BCL (First Class/Distinction) – New College, Oxford
BVC (Very Competent) – ICSL

Awards and Scholarships

Major Scholar, Middle Temple (2001)
Sweet and Maxwell Prize for the top final year exams performance, UCL (2001)
Bentham Prize for the best performance in Jurisprudence, UCL (2001)
Law Faculty Dean's List Prize for Academic Excellence, UCL (2001)
Senior Mooting Competition winner, UCL (2000)
Simmons & Simmons Prize for the best performance in Property, UCL (2000)

Appointments and Publications

Free Representation Unit member
Editor of Sweet and Maxwell's Administrative Court Digest
Tutor in Contract, Tort and Public Law, University College, London (2001-2)