People
James Freeman
Biography
James is UK Head of Arbitration. He has conducted arbitrations under all of the major institutional rules and at all of the main seats, in a wide range of industry sectors.
He acts in both commercial and investor-state cases. He is a Solicitor Advocate and routinely appears as an advocate at substantive hearings. Legal 500 and Chambers UK has described him as an "excellent advocate", "a class act" and "particularly impressive."
James has substantial experience across a range of sectors, including energy, banking, trading and commodities, steel, aviation, private capital, insurance and telecoms. His practice has a particular focus on energy, and he is highly valued by clients for, among other things, his expertise in gas and LNG pricing disputes. He is acknowledged to be leading current thinking in this area, co-editing the 2nd edition of the Gas Price Arbitrations - the only textbook on the subject.
James is also known for his expertise in finance sector arbitrations and has acted as counsel for ISDA on its Arbitration Guide. A number of his cases have involved financial and trade-related sanctions, involving Russia and other countries.
Widely respected in the market, James features in all of the leading legal directories. In Chambers & Partners UK 2025, it is stated that James is “very smart, he quickly grasps the gist of things. He provides excellent advice … He is a real benefit and it is a pleasure to work with him”; that “James is a skilful advocate in complex arbitration matters” and that “James is very cerebral and has very good legal instincts.” It is also stated that “James provides an excellent legal service in an ever-changing business environment with a clear client and commercial focus. He thinks outside of the box and moves things forward. He strikes the balance between sufficient depth of advice and efficiency and commercial practicability.” Previous editions have described him: as “an exemplary lawyer” and “highly effective” who is “very creative and adapts to the situation that you are in. He is also sensitive to the client's issues and needs”; “bright, hard-working and someone you want on your team”; “an impressive advocate and commercial arbitrator”; that “He provides excellent service on matters involving complex commercial and tactical issues”; and that is “a pleasure to work with. He's super bright and intellectually rigorous”; “A class act. He's thoughtful and sensible”; and “all over the facts of a case,”... “He knows exactly why he's there and is massively persuasive.” Legal 500, 2023 describes James as having a “brilliant mind”. Previous editions have said he is “versatile, smart and pragmatic”; “engaging and always very calm and measured, as well as being fun to work with – responsive and on top of all of the details.” Who’s Who Legal Arbitration 2023 states that “James Freeman excels on the international stage, being described as ‘really good practitioner’ who is consistently ‘meticulous and thoughtful’”.
Practice areas
- Disputes
- International arbitration
- Financial services litigation
- Sanctions and international trade
- Administrative and public law
Sectors
- Energy
- Oil and gas
- Liquefied natural gas
- Banks
- Private capital
Selected experience
- USD100m: An oil major in an arbitration with a joint venture partner in a deep-water exploration project off West Africa.
- USD500m: A major LNG producer in a price review arbitration of unrivalled complexity involving six European markets and EU competition law issues.
- EUR200m: Bank of Cyprus in defeating complex ICC arbitration claims arising out of the Eurozone crisis and the 2013 Cypriot bail-in legislation.
- USD200m: JKX Oil & Gas on three investment treaty claims against Ukraine.
- EUR100m: a bank in parallel arbitration, English and Russian court proceedings, seeking anti-suit and other injunctive relief against proceedings in Russia and declarations of non-liability in a sanctions context.
- A private equity group in a USD250m dispute over warranty claims arising from claims by third parties under Indonesian law to rights in Indonesian mining interests.
- The Republic of Slovenia in an ICSID arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty and a bilateral treaty, defending claims brought by Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP), the national electricity company of Croatia.
- An international bank in successfully defending a claim by an Indonesia-based Private Wealth Management client alleging mis-selling of FX and equity-linked derivatives.
- A major LNG producer in an arbitration in which a buyer alleged that the parties were under an obligation to extend two LNG supply agreements and claimed a sum of almost USD800m. We succeeded in having the buyer’s claim entirely dismissed and, very unusually, our client was awarded 100% of its costs.
- A major LNG producer in a price review arbitration concerning the price of LNG supplies under two long-term LNG supply agreements into two different European markets.
Education
- BA (Hons), First Class, Ancient & Modern History, New College Oxford University, 1998 Post Graduate Diploma in Law, Distinction, City University London, 2000 LPC, Commendation, The College Of Law, London, 2001 Diploma in International Arbitration, Distinction, Queen Mary College, University of London, 2010
Admissions
- Partner, 2018 Counsel, 2015 Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 2004
Languages
- English