James is a tactically astute and sought-after advocate who is meticulous in his case preparation. He acts in public and private law children cases and adopts a pragmatic but sensitive approach to his work.
His calmness under pressure and ability to manage complexity mean that James has been instructed in serious cases against counsel many years his senior. He represented the respondent child as a lone junior in the Court of Appeal in Re H (A Child: Contact: Domestic Abuse) EWCA Civ 326. The court said that it was after James’ submissions in particular that it was satisfied that the Recorder’s decision at first instance was not invalidated.
James has appeared on several occasions in the High Court. He was instructed as a led junior at a fact-finding hearing in the Family Court involving an allegation of rape made by a daughter against her father and the forensic analysis of thousands of pages of mobile phone data.
Background
Originally from Cornwall, James studied the Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law in Exeter before undertaking his Bar Vocational Studies at City, University of London. He is a Lord Denning scholar of Lincoln’s Inn.
James originally studied Education with Geography at St John’s College, University of Cambridge. He graduated top of his class with a Starred First, before completing his MPhil in Psychology and Education funded jointly by St John’s College and the Isaac Newton Trust.
Whilst at Cambridge, James was the recipient of numerous academic awards and prizes and was published in the SAGE Handbook of Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education. He also worked within research teams at the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) centre, established with funding from the LEGO Foundation.
Publications
- Whitebread, D., & Adams, J. R. (2019). How Children Learn. In D. Whitebread with V. Grau, M.McClelland, D.P. Pasternak, & N. Perry (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education. SAGE Publications Ltd
