James Ballance

Chancery: Commercial, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Company, Fraud: Civil, Partnership, Professional Negligence, Real Estate Litigation, Restructuring/Insolvency, Trusts.

James’ busy commercial practice includes high profile property litigation; commercial and corporate disputes; professional liability claims; civil fraud; and trusts litigation.

He has considerable experience of advising commercial landlords and tenants on forfeiture and other L&T claims, particularly in an insolvency context. Recent instructions include acting for WeWork group tenants resisting High Court forfeiture actions, culminating in a successful summary judgment application: SBP 2 Sarl v 2 Southbank Tenant Ltd [2025] EWHC 16 (Ch).

His wide-ranging practice includes beneficial ownership claims to real property, in both domestic and commercial contexts; claims against directors, partners or fiduciaries for breach of duty, including tracing and off-shore dimensions; real estate litigation including easements, restrictive covenants, rentcharges, and Charities Act claims. He also has considerable experience advising on professional liability claims, particularly in banking & legal negligence contexts, and has a thriving commercial litigation/arbitration practice, ranging from claims against NHS corporate bodies to cross-border disputes in the IT sector.

Chancery Bar Association, COMBAR, Property Bar Association, Professional Negligence Bar Association