James Barry

James is an experienced litigator, with nearly a decade of representing public bodies at all levels of the judicial system, including the UK Supreme Court. James has successfully defended government decision making in broad areas of policy including energy, education, passports, planning, conservation and wildlife and large-scale infrastructure projects.

James also has considerable experience in public inquiries having represented government departments and public bodies before the Grenfell Inquiry, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and the UK Covid Inquiry.
 

James takes a strategic, risk-based approach to litigation, based on the client’s goals and expectations. He understands that clients want clear advice early on about where they stand so that they can take informed decisions about what to do next. Sometimes that can mean taking a pragmatic approach and reaching a compromise, or it can mean challenging on principle.

As a former senior government lawyer, James has an in-depth understanding of how the civil service and Whitehall works. This knowledge allows James to tailor his advice to reflect the particular environment and needs of clients.

“I wouldn’t want to be judicially reviewed again, but if I was, I would want to be represented by James.

Thank you for all your hard work, James. Week in, week out you were immense.”