• J.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1986 o Order of the Coif o Thelen-Marrin Prize at graduation for best published scholarship
• M.A. Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1986
• B.A. History, Yale University, 1977

• Energy Disputes
• Investment Disputes
• Construction Law

• New York (1987)
• Paris (2013)

• Member of Arbitration Chambers (October 2024 – present)
• Partner, King & Spalding, Paris, France (2009 – 2024)
• Senior Counsel, Leboeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae (subsequently Dewey & Leboeuf), Paris, France (2007 – 2009)
• Counsel, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Vienna, Austria (2001 – 2006)
• Attorney, Appellate Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (2001)
• Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (1998 – 2001)
• Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (1996 – 1997)
• Deputy Counsel to the President, The White House, Washington, D.C. (1995 – 1996)
• Associate, Shearman & Sterling LLP, Washington, D.C. (1992 – 1995)
• Law Clerk to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and Justice Thurgood Marshall, The Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C. (1990 – 1991)
• Legal Assistant to Judge Howard M. Holtzmann, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, The Hague, The Netherlands (1988 – 1990)
• Law Clerk, Judge Abner J. Mikva, U.S. Courts of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Washington, D.C. (1987 - 1988)
• Associate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, New York (1986 – 1987)
• Legislative Assistant to Congressman Stanley N. Lundine, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. (1979 – 1982)
• Legislative Assistant to Congressman Michael J. Harrington, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. (1977 – 1979)

Over the last dozen years, James has served as both presiding arbitrator and co-arbitrator in proceedings covering a wide range of subject matters. Sample cases include:

• Co-arbitrator in an LCIA arbitration involving a dispute over financing of an energy project;
• Presiding arbitrator in an ICC proceeding involving exercise of stock buyback options in an Asian company;
• Co-arbitrator in an ICC arbitration arising from a dispute between joint venture partners for the modernization and management of an oil refinery;
• Presiding arbitrator in an LCIA proceeding involving disputed entitlement to management and performance fees in connection with a property development;
• Presiding Arbitrator in an LCIA Arbitration arising from a dispute between joint venture partners as to the management of companies within a large conglomerate of enterprises;
• Co-arbitrator in an SCC arbitration involving alleged breaches of a contract to sell equipment for manufacturing military materiel; and
• Presiding arbitrator in an ICC proceeding involving claimed breaches of a regional distribution agreement for advanced energy technology.

The following are recent representative matters in which James served as counsel:

• Representing a supplier of heavy machinery in an ICC arbitration arising from an African port development project;
• Representing a respondent in a UNCITRAL arbitration brought under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) arising from disputed control of an oil refinery;
• Representing a European energy company in an ICSID arbitration arising from its failure to receive gas under a long-term supply contract;
• Advising an international construction joint venture in arbitrations and dispute resolution board proceedings arising from construction of a high-speed rail project;
• Representing a Middle-Eastern developer in an ICSID arbitration arising from a frustrated urban development project;
• Representing a European gas company in an ICC arbitration arising from a gas price reopener dispute with an African gas producer;
• Advising an international construction engineering firm during a dispute review board proceeding on issues arising from construction of a harbor tunnel;
• Representing a European commodities trader in an ad hoc arbitration arising from a breached agreement for sale and delivery of goods in the CIS;
• Representing an international construction firm in a dispute concerning asphalt specifications on a road project in Africa;
• Representing the claimant in an ICC arbitration arising from an aborted geophysical study project in Africa;
• Representing the owner of an LNG liquefaction facility in arbitrations arising from disputes under a gas supply agreement;
• Representing a European gas distributor in an ICC arbitration involving operation of a gas price readjustment clause;
• Representing an international construction engineering firm in arbitrations arising from delay and disruption of a road project in East Africa;
• Representing a government in an ICC arbitration arising from an attempted privatization of a state-owned power plant;
• Representing the manufacturer of precision equipment for an industrial glass factory in a Vienna Rules arbitration arising from a dispute with an installation subcontractor;
• Representing an international construction engineering firm in ICC arbitration arising from its work as electro-mechanical subcontractor on a hydroelectric project in Southeast Asia;
• Representing western European investors in an ICC arbitration arising from a shareholders' dispute following privatization of a cement plant in eastern Europe;
• Representing an international construction engineering firm in ICC arbitration arising from construction of a steel tube plant in Europe.

Publications

• Enforcement of Interim Measures, Chapter 10 in GAR’S GUIDE TO CHALLENGING AND ENFORCING ARBITRATION AWARDS 112 (Law Business Research 2021) (co-authored with R. Chahine).
• Commentary on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, Chapter 17 in THE PRACTITIONER'S HANDBOOK ON COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION (3rd ed. Oxford 2019).
• Party Representation: Does Article 21 Mark a Trend?, vol. 4(2) International Arbitration Review of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution 329-348 (2018).
• Interim Measures: The Slow Evolution of Quick Arbitral Relief, vol. 10(4) World Arbitration and Mediation Review 454 (Juris 2016).
• UNICTRAL Arbitration Rules, Chapter 3 in CONCISE INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION (2nd ed. Kluwer 2015).
• UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (2010) and UNCITRAL Transparency Rules (2013), chapter in vol. 4 of World Arbitration Reporter (Juris 2014).
• Interim Measures Under UNCITRAL's Model Law, 7 World Arbitration & Mediation Review 119 (2013).
• Maximizing Possibilities for Joinder in International Arbitration, in A. Rovine, ed. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION (The Fordham Papers 2011) 104 (2012) (co-author with R. Digon).
• Generalizing About the Virtues of Specificity: The Surprising Evolution of the Longest Article in the UNCITRAL Model Law, 6 World Arbitration & Mediation Review 7 (2012).
• 'Manifest Disregard of the Law,' 'Minimum Contacts,' and Forum Non Conveniens: Recent Developments in Judicially-Created Doctrines that May Defeat Enforcement of Arbltral Awards in the U.S. (co-author with B. Love), 2010(3) Paris Arbitration Journal / Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage 653-696.
• Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est la Même Chose - Eight Revisions Not Adopted in the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules, 28(4) ASA Bulletin 855

Speaking Engagements

• Keynote Speaker, “ISDS Reform,” 23rd annual Joint Conference of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), the American Society for International Law (ASIL), and the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Washington, D.C. (2026)
• Lecturer, Annual Lecture of the Dutch Arbitration Association, Amsterdam (2026)
• Speaker, “Ethics in International Arbitration,” 4th annual Bocconi University arbitration conference, Milan (2026)
• Co-Chair, 13th biennial CILS International Arbitration Symposium, Salzburg (2026)
• Speaker, “Sovereign and States Disputes,” Thought Leaders 4 conference, London (2025)
• Speaker, Juris Leading Arbitrators’ Conference, Vienna (2025)
• Instructor, “Written Pleadings & Evidence,” 2nd annual Ukraine Arbitration Association Arbitration Academy (2025)
• Panel Moderator, “The UNCITRAL Model Law at 40,” IBA Arbitration Day (London, 2025)
• Speaker, “ISDS Reform,” at the American Bar Association International Law Section conference (2025)
• Moderator, Center for American & International Law Webinar on “Promoting the Rule of Law: Emerging Pressures on the Legal Profession” (YouTube, 2025)
• Speaker, “Ethical Responsibilities as Dispute Resolution Practitioners,” London International Disputes Week Main Conference (2025)
• Session Co-Moderator, LCIA Tylney in Town (2025)
• Panel Moderator, “Managing Construction Disputes,” Beijing Int’l Arbitration Center / LCIA London Summit (2025)
• Instructor for 3rd Week, Summer Law Course in International Arbitration, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Mexico City (2025)
• Speaker, “Sanctions, Anti-Suit, and Anti-Arbitration Injunctions,” Fall Conference of the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), Berlin (2025)
• Speaker, “Arbitration and Philosophy,” Queen Mary University School of Arbitration 40th Anniversary Conference, London (2025)
• Speaker, “Arbitration Amidst Global Challenges and Change,” Delhi Arbitration Weekend, New Delhi (2025)
• Speaker, “AI in Arbitration,” joint seminar of the Vienna International Arbitral Center, the Shanghai International Arbitral Center, and Pitkowitz & Partners, Vienna (2025)
• Speaker, “Comparing Institutional Arbitration Rules,” Seoul ADR Festival (2025)
• Keynote Speaker, “Current ISDS Issues,” seminar by Vanguard International Dispute Resolution, Seoul ADR Festival (2025)
• Speaker, Conference on the Rule of Law and Investment Arbitration, convened by the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), Berlin (2024)
• Moderator, Panel on Human Rights and Arbitration, Dublin International Arbitration Day (2024)
• Speaker, Rome Arbitration Conference (2024)
• Co-chair of the conference, CILS’ biennial Salzburg Arbitration Symposium (2024)
• Speaker, Paris Arbitration Week Conference (2024)
• Speaker, XVI Belgrade International Arbitration Conference (2024)
• Speaker, Program on Sanctions and Arbitration organized by the FIDE Foundation, Madrid (2024)
• Speaker, Swiss Arbitration Summit (2024)
• Speaker, Roundtable on Reform of Investor-State Dispute Resolution (2024)
• Speaker, 31st Annual Croatian Arbitration Days (2024)
• Speaker, London Energy Arbitration Conference (2023)
• Speaker, 12th Edition of Le Café des Arbitres (“The Arbitrators’ Café”) (2023)
• Speaker, ITA’s 35th Annual Arbitration Workshop (2023)
• Speaker, Dutch Arbitration Day (2023)
• Speaker, Bocconi University Conference About International Investment Arbitration Law and Policy (2023)
• Speaker, International Arbitration Colloquium (2023)
• Speaker, London Court of International Arbitration Symposium (2022)
• Speaker, 37th Annual Symposium of Arbitrators (2022)
• Speaker, Arbitration Colloquium in Paris (2022)
• Co-chair of the conference, CILS’ biennial Salzburg Arbitration Symposium (2022)
• Speaker, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s Colloquium (2022)

• Director (2015- present) and Deputy Chair (2023- present) of the LCIA Board of Directors
• Private Sector member of United States delegations to UNCITRAL's Arbitration Working Groups (II and III) (2001- present)
• Member of the Rule of Law Task Force (2021- present) and the Arbitrators Task Force (2026- present) of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration

• English
• French

• United States