James Barratt

Practice Areas

James serves as Co-Head of International Disputes – Europe. He is based in our London office and has more than two decades of experience representing clients in some of the world’s most complex and challenging international arbitrations.

He has served as counsel in more than 100 international arbitrations, where the amounts in dispute have often exceeded US$1 billion. He typically leads the team and conducts the advocacy as the first chair. James also sits as an arbitrator and as a part-time judge.

James has been recognized for more than a decade as one of the leading international arbitration lawyers. In multiple years, he has been referenced in Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration, and Expert Guides, International Arbitration. James has also been listed in The Legal 500 Arbitration Powerlist – UK Region.

The Legal 500 UK (2022) has reported that James is “exceptional—incredibly intelligent and dedicated,” that he was an “experienced advocate with sound judgement” of “high intellectual quality and also very pleasant to work with.”

James’ practice has a particular focus on disputes in the energy sector, especially natural gas and LNG disputes. He also has conducted substantial arbitrations in various sectors, including life sciences, private equity, aviation, defense, technology, and telecommunications. He has worked extensively with clients in the Asia Pacific region and Latin America.

James has represented multinational corporations, institutional investors, governments, and international organizations in arbitrations administered under the rules of all major institutions (including the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, and HKIAC), as well as in ad hoc UNCITRAL proceedings under various applicable laws (including English, French, German, Spanish, Swiss, Brazilian, PRC, Japanese, Russian, and public international law).

James also has a significant practice in contentious restructuring matters at the intersection of international arbitration and litigation. James advises creditors, debtors, officeholders and other stakeholders in disputes arising out financially distressed businesses across a wide range of industry sectors. James’ focus is on high-value complex cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters, typically involving parallel proceedings in European and other jurisdictions.