JAMES McCLELLAND PUBLIC & REGULATORY LAW CV Call 2004 Appointments Treasury Counsel to the Crown (B Panel: 2012 to date) (C Panel: 2009-2012) Contact details [email protected] Fountain Court Chambers, Temple, EC4Y 9DH 0207 583 3335 (clerk, Sian Huckett); 0207 842 3793 (direct dial) PRACTICE PROFILE James has a civil and commercial practice with a particular focus on judicial review, public and regulatory law. His public law practice is extensive, covering matters as diverse as extradition, international sanctions, tax, financial and legal regulation, civil justice reform and higher education funding1. James is one of the Attorney General’s Counsel to the Crown (B panel). In 2011 James was named by Legal Week as one of ten “Stars at the Bar”. James is also profiled in one or both of the Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 directories as a “leader in the field” in five practice areas: (1) Administrative & Public law, (2) Financial Services Regulation, (3) Professional Discipline, (4) Banking & Finance, and (5). Between 2011-2013 James was a tutor and later college lecturer in public and administrative law (including human rights) at Oxford University, teaching the full undergraduate syllabus (James undertook his teaching commitments alongside full-time practice). James is a co-founder and Executive Committee member of YPLG (the Young Public Law Lawyers’ Group). He is also a member of ARDL (the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers); has contributed to their quarterly bulletin, and recently appeared in their panel debate on proposed regulatory reforms. Current or recent comments concerning James in Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Legal Week are as follows: Terrifyingly intelligent (Legal 500), Phenomenally bright (Chambers) Prodigiously intelligent and brilliant at the paperwork (Chambers) My favourite junior for public law matters with a commercial flavour (Chambers) Highly regarded by interviewees for his calm and assured advocacy style (Chambers) Full details of James’ practice (including his commercial, banking and fraud practice) are available online at: http://www.fountaincourt.co.uk/people/james-mcclelland 1 1 Cerebral but confident and cheerful (Legal Week), a delight to work with (Chambers) He has wisdom beyond his years of call (Chambers) Solicitors say [his] submissions are pertinent, succinct, clear and coherently made, with crisp answers to judicial questions delivered in an astonishingly engaging manner (Legal Week) Well regarded by peers and regulators alike (Chambers) He is highly intelligent, responsive and alert to regulators' needs (Chambers) Incredibly mature for his age and his call (Chambers), takes a very common-sense approach and remains focused on the goal, not the process (Legal Week) An excellent litigator, whose energy and intelligence is exceptional (Legal 500) He is extraordinarily bright, and combines this with a great deal of user-friendliness and a calm manner (Chambers) A junior who is gaining a reputation for obtaining instructions in some of the standout cases in the [financial regulatory] sector (Chambers) A rising star, who is exceedingly intelligent, hardworking and user friendly (Legal 500) Celebrated for his intelligence and determination (Chambers) Stands out for his ability to place himself in the shoes of the client and apply detailed legal analysis to the practical issues (Legal 500) Has an exceptional work ethic and is good at getting to the heart of the issue (Chambers) His knowledge of detail and his precision are second to none. He never misses a trick and always considers things from every angle (Chambers) SUMMARY OF PRACTICE Public law James’s public law practice involves advising and acting for public bodies, claimants and interested parties in an extremely wide variety of disputes. Many of James’ cases concern errors of law, vires, and disputed principles of both EU and ECHR law. The following are examples of James’ practice: R (OJSC Rosneft Oil Co) v HMT, FCA & Aor [2015] EWHC 248 (Admin): acting for the FCA in the “Russian sanctions” challenge brought by Rosneft against the FCA and HMT (now the subject of a reference to the CJEU). R (Bluefin Insurance Services Ltd) v FOS [2014] EWHC 3413 (Admin): acting for an insurance broker in a test-case concerning the jurisdiction of the FOS to make awards in respect of D&O policies. R (Whitston) v SSte for Justice [2014] EWHC 3044 (Admin): acting for the ABI in a JR challenge concerning changes to the funding regime for mesothelioma claims. R (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) v Secretary of State for Justice [2013] EWHC 1358 (Admin): acting for the ABI in a JR challenge to the Government’s decision to cut recoverable 2 costs in RTA claims (the judgment now paves the way for reforms to remove £1 million per day out of the motor insurance system). United States of America v Wood [2013] EWHC 1971 (Admin): Acting for the Home Secretary in a procedural/jurisdictional challenge to the extradition of an alleged wire fraudster to the USA. Advising a major quasi-governmental body: advising on a “root-and-branch” re-organisation of its decision-making structures to make them “judicial review proof” (viz. compliant with procedural fairness). McNulty v HMRC [2012] UKUT 174 (TCC): acting for HMRC in an Upper Tribunal appeal as to whether the vesting of tax appeal rights in bankruptcy was compatible with A1P1, Art 6 and Art. 8 ECHR. Adams v Law Society [2012] EWHC 980 (QB): acting for the SRA resisting claims for misfeasance in public office and a declaration of incompatibility under the HRA 1998 relating to the SRA’s statutory powers to intervene into solicitors’ practices. R (BBA) v FSA [2011] EWHC 999 (Admin): acting for the FSA (now FCA) in the PPI JR, defending decisions which have had multi-billion pound consequences for industry. Acting for a commercial regulator: resisting >50 linked pre-action JR challenges concerning decisions affecting an entire industry sector. Cooper v Attorney General [2009] J.P.L. 619: acting for the claimant against the Attorney General in the first damages claim ever brought against the UK for alleged infringements of EC law by a domestic Court (reported as “ground-breaking” in Chambers & Partners). Confidential statutory appeal: acting for the governing body of a school in a statutory appeal concerning the permanent of an exclusion of a child (the child’s “celebrity” parents elected to tender evidence and were cross-examined by James). R (Queen Mary, University of London) v Higher Education Funding Council [2008] EWHC 1472 (Admin): acting for a university in a JR challenge to funding decisions by the Higher Education Funding Council (resulting in the quashing of those decisions). Financial regulatory James acts both for and against regulators and advises on financial regulatory issues including FSMA matters generally; the powers and competencies of the FCA, the FOS and the FSCS; the Financial Services Handbook (in particular COBS, ICOBs, DISP, PRIN); collective investment schemes, and the territorial application of the FSMA regime. Past cases include the following: NRAM plc v McAdam [2014] EWHC 4174 (Comm) (currently on appeal): acting against NRAM (formerly Northern Rock Plc) in the >£250m test case concerning whether lenders can “contract into” the CCA in loans exceeding the statutory threshold. 3 Acting for a major offshore bank: in a dispute concerning the territorial application of FSMA. FSCS exceptional fund management levy: advising the FSCS concerning its statutory powers and discretion when raising a >£300 million exceptional levy from the fund management industry under FEES. Acting for an offshore investment firm: in a dispute concerning the cross-border regulation of collective investment schemes. R (BBA) v FSA [2011] EWHC 999 (Admin): acting for the FCA (then FSA) against the British Bankers Association in the PPI judicial review (a decision with multi-billion pound consequences). Argentum Lex Wealth Management v Giannotti [2011] EWCA Civ 1341: appearing against the FCA (as sole counsel) in a Court of Appeal hearing concerning the effect of pro forma arrangements for the transfer of regulatory liabilities. Bank Overdraft Charges: acting for Halifax/Bank of Scotland against the OFT in the “Bank Overdraft Charges” test proceedings (a decision with multi-billion pound consequences). Legal regulatory James regularly advises and acts for both regulators and natural and legal persons concerning the obligations of legal service providers and the statutory powers and public law duties of the SRA. He has acted in numerous judicial review proceedings and statutory appeals involving the SRA and appeared successfully (as sole counsel) for the SRA in a Court of Appeal appeal concerning whether contracts formed in breach of regulatory obligations could be enforced by their nonregulated counter-parties (James’ opponent was a leading QC): Westlaw v Boddy [2010] EWCA Civ 929. James also appears regularly (as sole counsel) in disciplinary prosecutions, including those concerned with dishonesty, the misappropriation of client funds, and a wide variety of other serious misconduct. James acted for the SRA (led by Timothy Dutton QC) in the widely publicised prosecutions for alleged solicitor misconduct in connection with the Coal Miners’ Compensation Scheme (collectively the largest enquiry ever undertaken into misconduct within the legal profession); he appeared in four separate prosecutions, including both of the headline cases of Raleys and Beresfords, the latter of which resulted in findings of dishonesty and was reported in the national press as a “landmark hearing” (The Times): Beresford v Law Society [2009] EWHC 3155 (Admin). EDUCATION 2012 -2013: Lecturer in Public and Administrative law, Keble College, Oxford University 2011-12: Tutor in Public and Administrative law, St Hugh’s College, Oxford University MA, Cambridge University (Eng. Lit) – Starred Double First (including top First in the University) 4 CPE, City University – Distinction, second highest in the University BCL, Oxford University – Distinction BVC, Inns of Court School of Law – Outstanding Eldon Scholarship (for the most promising graduate of Oxford University commencing practice at the Bar) Barnett Bequest Award (for an outstanding student of the BCL) (Merton College) Buchanan Prize (for outstanding performance on the Bar Vocational Course) (Lincoln’s Inn) Eastham Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) Mansfield Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) Bowen Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn) Hardwicke Entrance Award (Lincoln’s Inn) Maitland Chambers Advocacy Competition (First Prize) European Law Mooting Competition (Second Place, European Regional Finals held in the Supreme Court of Lithuania, both oral and written submissions made in French) Rylands Prize (for top First in English) (Cambridge) Heineman Prize (for outstanding work on Shakespeare) (Cambridge) Matthew Wren Senior Scholarship (Peterhouse) College Exhibition (Peterhouse) Friends of Peterhouse Prize for English 5
© Copyright 2024