James Martin

Sterlington Law, Senior Firm Manager (Oct 2024-Apr 2025) As I reflect on the incredible work we've accomplished together, I wanted to share some key achievements made possible with your guidance: Conducted two Engagement Letter audits, enabling us to obtain and store them effectively improving our governance and risk. Implemented the New Client/Matter/Engagement Letter creation and conflict check process for our CE and Senior Partner, along with a version for all other partners. Developed an Associate Onboarding SOP, improving clarity on steps and coordination between teams. Launched the internal “What Three Things” newsletter. Created several financial reports to support management decision-making. These are just a few that come to mind, but I’m sure there are many more. Apr 2025, Operations Executive James is a dedicated and results focused business professional, adept at problem solving and enhancing operational effectiveness, whilst building positive and inclusive work environments. Apr 2025, Head of Recruitment and Interim Head of HR James has been a great asset to the team. He is proactive, keen to learn, offers support and is always keen to resolve issues that arise. I’ve really enjoyed my time working with him, I find him approachable, listens to the challenges we voice to him and is always ready to problem solve and find ways to moving the firm forward. He also brings a lot of learnings from his previous experiences which I have found helpful, especially when it comes to the legal industry and has a strong focus on building positive relationships within the Firm which sets a great example to everyone he works with. I appreciate his collaborative leadership approach to projects and issues in that he has a clear sense of moving forward but at the same time he values input and recommendations from his colleagues. Looking forward to continuing to work with you and build a resilient and thriving Firm! Jan 2025, Head of Procurement Thanks for inviting me to share feedback - it’s great to see your dedication to improvement. Please continue: Leading with kindness and intelligence - it sets a great tone for our work. Being approachable and supportive - it’s clear you genuinely care about us. Communicating clearly and decisively - it’s inspiring to work with someone so thoughtful and articulate. I would say that you could start/if have not already: Sharing more about your thought process - it would help me and the rest of us align better with your vision. Encouraging more team collaboration in brainstorming sessions - it could spark even more innovative ideas as we could get everyone's input. Scheduling regular one-on-one check-ins – We do this already but in case you don't with other team members I think they’d love the opportunity to connect more frequently Excited for what’s ahead! Jan 2025, Administrative Assistant In the short time I have worked with you it has been an absolute pleasure. You have given sound advice and come into a role that is extremely busy, and you have transitioned well. You are easy to approach and always find time for us to chat and work together for a common goal. You give fair and impartial advice, and your leadership skills are felt throughout our team and it is highly appreciated. Jan 2025, Executive Assistant Team Lead I have enjoyed working with James and his commitment to managing change in terms of systems and operational processes, but most importantly his commitment to the people involved in what is always a difficult period for an organisation's transition to maturity. Working in a rapidly changing environment James never loses sight of the people involved and the personal impact of the need to change. I like the fact that you are diplomatic in all circumstances and was pleasantly surprised when you picked up our CEO on his manner in one of our calls. I also like the fact that you accept that if we are constantly evolving, we are making progress, and that technology changes take time and need detailed and considered requirements. Something we don’t always have. Jan 2025, Head of Data and Financial Systems I’ll try to be as honest & objective as possible when listing your achievements to date as leader of the IT team: Constructing a healthy working relationship/rapport between yourself and your direct reports Gaining a grasp of the numerous challenges faced within Sterlington, and a sense of direction on tackling these head on On the job support and encouragement of team members Managing up (particularly) and down, and shielding direct reports from the heavy hits from Management Gaining the trust and respect of the tech team (all the way across from myself to the newest member) Jan 2025, IT Manager Herbert Smith Freehills LLP (Apr 2014 – Jan 2024) Practice Manager, UK and EMEA James has been the key driver of the Digital and Legal Transformation (DLT) Agenda with the practice group. After listening to feedback from lawyers, James has worked to ensure that DLT is prioritised in the PG and there is a mandate supported by the Managing Partner(s). James demonstrated brilliant leadership and organisation skills - notably James arranged for me to present at the Finance West Townhall which he organised, a decision supported by then Managing Partner, which received positive feedback. James was instrumental in establishing the DLT Interest Group - a dedicated steering group of lawyers from each of the Finance teams and business services stakeholders to drive forward the DLT Agenda. To date the DLT Interest Group has delivered a dedicated workshop to identify immediate and medium-term needs which have informed the DLT priorities for the year. James has been a pleasure to work with on several deliverables throughout the year. In addition to his leadership and organisational competencies, James is great at communicating requirements to ensure the needs of the practice group are being addressed. He has been an important conduit between the Transformation team and key practice group stakeholders. James is solutions-focused and is always looking to find ways to secure the continued success of the projects we have worked on together. May 2023, Legal Operations Manager Over the past year James and I have continued to work together on various tech related initiatives in Finance under the auspices of the Finance DLT interest group. Despite having many pressures on his time, James continues to make considerable efforts in leading this Project Step initiative from the non-tech perspective. Despite delays and frustrations beyond his control (eg central team restructuring), James continues to try to energise the group and create a platform for change and progress with tech tools that are already available at HSF but which, until recently, had not been sufficiently promoted or targeted by the central team to users. James contributes valuable ideas, listens to others and encourages others to contribute. He is good at proactively following up on progress with the central DLT team. James is always very helpful, thoughtful, responsive and professional, and I continue to enjoy working with him. May 2023, Finance Law Professional Support Lawyer Many thanks to James for the exceptionally quick production of a full set of partner progression papers for our candidate. The papers had to be pulled together at very short notice; James produced a very well-developed draft, liaised with our strategic accountant to obtain financial information and ensured that everyone involved knew what had to be delivered when. The fact that the papers have been submitted some way ahead of the deadline is testament to how efficiently the process was run. Mar 2023, Finance Law Business Sub-Group Lead Partner Many thanks to James for his help with my partner progression form, he produced good drafts and took the time to understand and describe my practice - much appreciated James! Feb 2023, Partner (full equity), Finance Law Many thanks to James for doing the huge amount of legwork on the preparation of our Milan partnership promotion candidate papers. James drew together the various strings to produce the papers; processed partner comments; coordinated the pro forma process (including preparing lists of miscreants to chase); and generally made the lives of the sponsoring partners very much easier. Thank you to James for doing this so efficiently and patiently; it is much appreciated. Mar 2023, Finance Law Business Sub-Group Lead Partner James was extremely useful handling the partner promotion papers of our Madrid candidate. I found him intelligent and with a great international mindset. He is keen to help develop the HSF strategy. Besides he is a pleasure to work with him. Dec 2022, Madrid office Partner and Chairman James has done an excellent job driving forward the process and compiling the promotion papers, demonstrating his clear understanding of the practice and our ambitions. Dec 2022 Finance Law Business Unit Lead Partner It's been great to continue to work with James on several ongoing laterals over the last 6 months, including a rather tricky one. James is always on top of the detail, builds rapport with candidates quickly and is a great ambassador for the firm. He's also someone BS colleagues enjoy working with, helpful when getting things done quickly to meet tight deadlines. He's flagged things to me around timings and process which have been helpful, it's great to have him on the team. Dec 2022 Global Director of Recruitment James has been a very important support in the role of team leader. He is precise and organized and takes good initiatives. He is discharging us as much as he can from administrative tasks. He has a clear understanding of the strategic goals. Oct 2022, Partner / Head of Paris Finance Law team James and I have worked together for 18 months now. I have no qualms about approaching him and bouncing ideas off him. He clearly cares about the business and its people, and wants all groups and offices to succeed. I appreciate him deferring to me on finance-related questions and feel he has really gained a deeper understanding of law firm finances over the past 18 months. I look forward to working with James in the coming months/years ahead. Sep 2022, Lead Commercial Accountant Finance Law I have valued James's support over the last few months. He has kept on top of and progressed all the different practice issues and has kept me updated. He's also been helpful in acting as a conduit to progress matters between myself and risk, IT etc. There are some thorny/difficult practice management issues and I have always felt confident that he was on top of things and so took a number of things off my plate. In terms of developing skills, having a punchier style in delivering information / presenting to partners would be helpful. This will come through practice and we've discussed how to start honing this skill. Sep 2022, ‘Caretaker’ Managing Partner Finance Law James helped me with my PSC promotion form before even joining the Division and provided some really helpful suggestions for that. I appreciated him asking for PSL representation on the People Forum, which is helpful both to allow us to canvass views on how we can help and also chip in with feedback where helpful. James is very collaborative, has great ideas and he is generous in ascribing credit, and I've thoroughly enjoyed working with him on this. Jun 2022, Professional Support Lawyer Finance Law James has been and continues to be great to work with on tech related initiatives. Whilst these projects can often be slow runners and frustrating at times (as progress may be hindered by things outside of our control), James makes considerable effort to keep momentum going and to involve interested others in these initiatives. He contributes valuable ideas and discussion about these projects and is very encouraging towards others about their input. James is super nice, super helpful, always responsive and very professional, which means it is always a pleasure working with him. Jun 2022, Knowledge and Learning Senior Lawyer James discussed his successes. Of these, I would call out: - Honesty: he calls it as he sees it - Good relationships and feedback from many he has helped - Ensuring the operational BAU runs on time (Divisional News, timesheets, utilisation statistics, partner meetings, Townhalls) - Promotion/Lateral/OC/retirement papers - Suggesting a partner-led team as a method to manage EMEA Finance James also listens to feedback with an open and constructive mindset. We discussed various issues including: 1. James has started a new career and progressed well. A key focus now is getting the foundations of the job firmly in place: (a) to continue building his PM skillset and (b) improving his personal communications (which can sometimes contain acronyms that are not obvious to me at least; as James says, he needs to think about who he is communicating with and how the messaging will best land with the target audience. 2. James is ambitious and keen to progress and add "additional value". To achieve his ambition, my advice is to conquer walking well before sprinting. Thank you, James, for what you have contributed so far. Jun 2022 Managing Partner West, Finance Law It has been a pleasure to have James as our interim manager and head of Finance BD during the transition period. James has been extremely helpful in keeping momentum going with the new strategy, and enabling our team to have more visibility of what had been discussed and agreed prior to our involvement. James is very approachable and helpful, particularly considering he is essentially doing two roles! He has also been very helpful in other areas of BD and ensuring that we all have a good overview of what's happening in the division. Jun 2022, Business Development Manager, Finance Law James helped me with the PSC promotion process, providing general guidance and feedback as well as detailed input into my application. He fully understood the business case and the reasons for promotion and was able to provide specific, honest and helpful input. He guided me throughout the process and I am very grateful for his assistance. Apr 2022, Professional Support Consultant, Finance Law James was very helpful putting together my partner promotion papers. He coordinated with my sponsor partners in relation to these documents, often working long hours. James was also very patient in responding to my multiple queries. It was noted by my sponsor partners and others that the papers were in good order and many thanks to James for his hard work on these. Feb 2022, Partner (junior) Finance Law I have seen what an active force you are in HSF. You are proactive, hard-working, efficient, and persistent. I feel that you love what you do, and that you apply yourself to doing it well. What I also appreciate is your deep and sincere kindness, you are a very good communicator and you consider each person as your equal. It's a real pleasure to work with a colleague like you. Jan 2022, Executive Assistant to EMEA Regional Head of Finance Practice James consistently shows an interest in the projects that are taking place in IT and is always happy to provide feedback and ideas. He makes me aware of any operational problems affecting Finance and always likes to be kept informed of progress. He looks for ways to improve the communications between the IT Interest Group, the BRMs and IT Team Leads in Operations. In essence, James is a pleasure to work with and I look forward to continuing to do so in the new year. Dec 2021, IT Business Relationship Manager He is highly motivated and committed. I have seen him pick up workstreams without being asked, keeping up momentum for valuable projects (like the race champions project, where I have been incredibly grateful for his support). James always has a considered, thoughtful and positive contribution to make, and I can only aspire to match his consistent good humour! Thank you very much. Dec 2021, Partner (full equity), Finance Law James has done a fantastic job in supporting the recruitment of two lateral partners this year. He is responsive and engaging, both with the candidates and with the wider team which supports the hire. Critically, he's focused on turning things around quickly, which is always important but was made more-so with the candidate who had the offer coming from another firm. I've enjoyed working with him. He knows the practice well, made good suggestions, nudged me when necessary and helped ensure the sponsors were turning things around quickly. I've enjoyed working with James on these hires. Oct 2021, Global Director of Recruitment I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know James and appreciate his enthusiasm, striving for excellence and thirst to learn more. He seems to have transitioned into the new role/PG well, under very difficult circumstances (at a time of COVID restrictions). We both speak openly and share information freely are working on so we can share the learnings in a firm first approach. On the occasions when I have needed his input (such as reports for the executive) he provides quality work on time. I look forward to continuing to work with James more closely over the year ahead. May 2021, Practice Manager Finance Law East / APAC It has been a real pleasure getting to know James over the past few months. James immediately impressed me with his energy and his willingness to learn. The role of the Practice Manager is as much about learning how the Managing Partner and Regional Head of Practice works (and what they want) as it is understanding the business of the firm and James was acutely aware of this distinction. He was keen to understand how to make an impact with the various leaders, being immediately aware of his stakeholders and where he wanted to add value. Lateral hire paperwork is quite the undertaking - the time it takes should not be underestimated. James had the added complication of this being part of the wider Middle East engine, meaning there were more stakeholders involved than usual! The Nomination Form, which is a beast of itself, was James's responsibility and he did an outstanding job. The feedback gathering was also more difficult given the number of people together with the relatively high-profile. None of this seemed to faze James. He methodically gathered everything he needed, pulling it together in a relatively short time frame. We tag-teamed on the Business Case and Business Plan and the process couldn't have gone better. James should feel pleased with how it went; "excellent papers" being the feedback. I have really enjoyed working with James. He has great energy, humour and gets stuff done - the job spec of a practice manager. May 2021, Director of Practice Groups Very happy with James's work on finalizing my progression paperwork and other matters. James is consistently proactive with his approach - pursuing solutions and keeping on task until various steps were complete. I very much appreciate that James seeks to enter the fray and drive process rather than waiting to be drawn into it/being only reactive. James made my life easier by teeing up the budgetary situation so I could more easily seek approval. James brings very good energy and is highly personable, which I value. Look forward to further work together. Apr 2021, Partner (full equity), Finance Law I recently worked with James on the first stage interviews for the Finance BD Manager role. I was a little apprehensive as I didn’t have a huge amount of candidate interview experience. Once I was aware that James was leading the interviews, my apprehension started to disappear he has a great deal of experience in interviewing, leading teams and a long service record so I was in a safe pair of hands! I was excited to have this opportunity to work with and to learn and observe from a senior team member. James was fantastic to work with. He walked me through the process, shared his experiences and tips and provided an interview template which he used to interview candidates which we adapted. He took great care to discuss the areas I was concerned about and offer suggestions and coaching so that I felt prepared and confident in advance. After each interview, we had a post interview chat about how the candidate had performed and James really made me feel involved, asking (and listening) to my views and really engaging me in the decision-making process. While these debrief sessions were focused on discussing the candidate's performance, James would check in on how I was feeling, give constructive feedback and provide any additional coaching or suggestions. To progress and develop, it is important that we spend time with senior members of our teams and I am glad that I was asked to work with James and have the chance to observe and learn from him. The coaching and knowledge he shared has enabled me to add a new skillset which will stand me in good stead for the future. Apr 2021, Business Development Manager, Finance Law James is picking up the role well, and it is clear that he is able to adjust his style to suit who he is working with. I can also see how James' BD background will assist the PG, positively. James has lots of energy about him, and it is clear he is really wanting to make a big contribution in his role and to make it nothing less than an absolute success. I encourage James not to want too much too soon - he is already doing a great job from what I can see, and is already attuned as to how he can best support Gary. The rest will come with time in the role. Apr 2021, Senior HR Manager I really appreciated James' efforts with my progression papers. he was thoughtful in his suggestions and worked hard to obtain feedback from all inputting partners. James was also really helpful in co-ordinating the our Town Hall presentation - seeking views of presenters and partners to ensure the content was both relevant and insightful. Feb 2021, Partner (full equity), Finance Law James was really helpful in putting together my PSC application. He advised me on possible objectives based on his experience in other Divisions and was generally very proactive. And mostly before he officially started in the Division! Thank you, James, it was very much appreciated. Feb 2021, Professional Support Lawyer Finance Law Account Director / Client Relationship Manager I have enjoyed working with James since joining the firm. Having moved over from Barclays [where I was a client of James], it has been really interesting to see the amount of work James does in the background to promote the client and try to build that continued investment in the relationship, much of which is not seen by the client. James works tirelessly to support the firms relationship with Barclays, and despite the challenges regarding revenue he continues to explore ways to diversify the approach and touchpoints with Barclays. The relationship team for Barclays are both senior and extremely busy which means that James is often driving the conversations and going that extra step to bring the total view of the relationship together and guide the team on what steps they need to take in order to follow up on the clients requests/demands. James is very thorough in his approach, diligences responses and always has the view of the client at the forefront of his mind. As the relationship with Barclays is evolving, I expect there may be some challenging conversations ahead but I have full comfort that James will be able to deliver these with a high degree of professionalism to drive the best outcome for the firm and for Barclays. On a personal standpoint, James has helped me settle into the firm, making me feel welcome and giving me a very honest view of how the intricacies of the firm work. Nov 2023, Head of Legal and Digital Transformation Projects James has done an amazing job with the Barclays account. Whilst the CRPs have played an important part in growing the relationship, James is the real driving force behind it and brings with him an unrivalled depth of knowledge of the bank, with the canny ability to marry that up with identifying where we can pursue opportunities to win work. The connections he has made (and continues to make) within the bank will only prove to grow our relationship further. It is clear that the CRPs see him as an integral part of the relationship - this was apparent on the group calls we have been holding as part of the Closeness Project, where the CRPs defer to James to lead the conversation on the state of the Barclays relationship. May 2021, Senior Business Development Manager James is an outstanding CRM. He is totally on top of Barclays, is thoughtful and proactive and really keeps the relationship moving forward. He has good ideas, good judgement and has established his own strong relationships with the client relationship team. James takes his role as Barclays CRM very seriously and does an excellent job both in terms of managing the HSF relationship team but also in nurturing his own Barclays relationships. He is organised and proactive all the time and is a key part of our strengthening relationship. Oct 2021 Client Relationship Partner I think very highly of James. I think his work on Barclays has been amazing and his dedication to the relationship is unfaltering. The relationship team at Barclays clearly like James and the rapport is strong enough that James can ask tough and searching questions and these are received well. That is a difficult and undervalued skill, and one James possesses in abundance. I appreciated the support I received from James; he created a supportive environment where we worked together on initiatives and ideas. I enjoy working with James and find his energy an ever-reliable boost for spirits. Keep up the outstanding work. Nov 2020, Banking Litigation Senior Associate I wanted to record my thanks to James for all his hard work on this relationship, which has developed significantly over recent times. The Barclays relationship team recently referred to our progress as incredible - there is no doubt that this would not have been possible without the skills James has shown to broaden and deepen the relationship. I particularly wanted to acknowledge the important role that James played in the early stages whilst we were working to show all aspects of the firm. It was sometimes discouraging when we were "close but not quite" on several pitches, but James remained positive. He helped to build the relationship to the point where we could send a secondee, which has led to a step change in engagement. Oct 2020, Client Relationship Partner James has played an Integral role in growing the HSF/Barclays relationship. Previously we received very little work from the client and James' efforts in ensuring we are providing Barclays with the many ways in which we can support Barclays has led to a substantial increase in the pitches we are to tender for (and win) Barclays now have a much deeper understanding on the service HSF can provide. It has been a pleasure to work with James as co CRM. I also have received direct feedback from Barclays that James is responsive and knowledgeable and enjoy working with our team. Jun 2020, Client Relationship Manager James has played an Integral role in growing the HSF/Barclays relationship. Previously we received very little work from the client and James' efforts in ensuring we are providing Barclays with the many ways in which we can support Barclays has led to a substantial increase in the pitches we are to tender for (and win) Barclays now have a much deeper understanding on the service HSF can provide. It has been a pleasure to work with James as co CRM. I also have received direct feedback from Barclays that James is responsive and knowledgeable and enjoy working with our team. Jun 2020, Client Relationship Manager Business Development Lead I feel that James and I formed a strong working relationship. I have always warmed to James as he is open, honest, upbeat, thoughtful, hardworking and has a great sense of humour. I always had the sense that he gave 100% to everything he did and genuinely cared about the difference he was making. He and I would always have engaging conversations and we would challenge each other with ideas for new ways of doing things. I loved that about James - his willingness to think outside the box and to have the mindset of always wanting to improve rather than accept the status quo. Given the ambit of our respective roles, I think the biggest challenge both he and I faced was finding ways to simplify and get on top of the process / organisational side of things so as to create the space for to think strategically about where people should be focussing their BD efforts and most importantly of call, to influence behaviours and to hold people to account to meet their BD plans. As it is, he leaves the group in a considerably better BD position than when he first arrived. He should be proud of the mark he has made on the group and I am grateful to him for it. Thank you James. Jan 2021, Banking Litigation Business Unit Lead Partner It was a pleasure to work with James over the past few months. James is proactive, business oriented with a very good knowledge of the firm. He helped me to set up a subgroup in the Financial Services Regulation practice, focusing on Insurance. He took notes of the calls, helped me in liaising with the other interested in partners in London and EMEA. He also drafted a first version of a client list and a capability statement. He is very reliable and always available to get things done. So, a big thank you for his contribution. Feb 2021, Partner (junior), Financial Services Regulation James and I have regular meetings re BD. These are helpful and the Monday morning emails help drive progress on targeted initiatives. We have also made a lot of progress in creating a BD tracker and re-constituting the partner BD meetings. I have noticed James thinking proactively about topics which could be presented at various forums - eg the cross-practice session and the global meetings which is useful and helps join up practices/jurisdictions. The one thing I think James could work on is his drafting and capturing different tones of voice for different circumstances, although I recognise it is hard for a non-lawyer to get the content exactly right (and also that partners can be hard to please on drafting!). Nov 2020, Partner (full equity), Financial Services Regulation James has been an amazing manager over the past 2 years, and I really appreciate the support and mentoring he has provided me. Nothing is too much trouble for James and he operates a 'door always open' approach to management, which I massively respect and appreciate. He's an amazing team player and is always concerned/ involved with the wider team, providing support and expertise where possible. James has provided much clarity and coherence over the past two years as I've navigated my way through the various additions to my role. I've really appreciated the thoughtful and constructive advice and feedback. I'm really grateful for the regular catch ups we had on a weekly basis. It was great to have someone so knowledgeable to sound check my projects/ activities and approach, and he'd always come up with great nuggets of ideas to help me improve. Thanks so much James!! Mar 2021, Senior Business Development Manager James has been an outstanding colleague over the past 12 months. Although he has now moved into the Finance Practice Management role, he contributed a huge amount in his final year with the Disputes BD team, and he has left a great legacy within the team. James has been a trusted co-lead for the past three years or so and during that time (and well before) a real mentor to me. I learned a huge deal from him, and his knowledge of the practice - the products and services and their intricacies - were all second to none. He really used these skills to the max to help develop the relationship with Barclays as Client Relationship Manager. He created and fostered strong relationships across the global network, most notably in the areas of Banking and Finance, to help deliver the best service possible to our clients. He's a great leader and was (and still is) a hugely respected figure within the BD team. He has always shown great compassion, resilience and diplomacy when dealing with team members and acting as a manager and mentor. James is a fantastic business developer, and I have no doubt he will continue to use these skills to be an equally fantastic practice manager. Mar 2021, Business Development Lead James encourages open dialogue which means you can easily approach him when struggling with certain tasks. He has a diplomatic approach when speaking with partners and key stakeholders regarding topics which is very impressive and shows he is not afraid to challenge situations. This can also give his team members confidence when speaking to partners and demonstrates how well he works as a team. He delegates tasks very well and according to skills and experience which can greatly help especially when workload is high. He has been a fantastic manager and probably one of the best BD Managers I have had the pleasure of working with, it's clear he is greatly respected within the firm and our designated groups and everyone has confidence in his work. Mar 2021, Senior Business Development Executive James is a collaborative, enthusiastic and incredibly commercial colleague who is a real pleasure to work with. He really embedded himself as a trusted advisor to the partners within the groups, who I am sure will sorely miss him. He was a great mentor and leader to the more junior team members around him and was integral in a more structured, proactive approach to BD, actively involving associates, trainees and others around the firm which yielded great results. May 2021, Senior Business Development Manager James is the member of the BD team whose input I find the most valuable. James gave me invaluable advice on my associate business plan. James' input was specific (focusing on certain of the banking relationships I had, and adding the context of the firm's needs in those relationships) and also big-picture. James' advice helped me to hone my plan before sharing it with partners, but also to give me the confidence to advocate a more active role for myself on my client relationships. I am very grateful to him for putting so much time into providing such thoughtful comments. He has been characteristically diligent in tracking a long list of prospective clients and updating the core team on developments across the firm. The successes the initiative has already achieved are in large part attributable to his work in moving it forward. I've always enjoyed working with James and look forward to doing so more in the future. Dec 2019, Partner (junior) Banking Litigation James volunteered to be the coordinator for EMEA disputes activities and has come forward with a number of ideas to demonstrate BD activity and progress within Disputes. It has not been easy to coordinate with other EMEA offices as the BD teams there find themselves pulled in many different directions; however, we have made much more progress with James on board. On a personal level I find James to be responsive, proactive and having a range of ideas. May 2019, Head of Practice Management Disputes UK/US/EMEA Co-Chair, Family and Caring DEI Network James does a great job leading the Family Network in the London office. There are so many strands to it which he manages to keep moving, alongside motivating the Committee members to participate and contribute. He is responsive and encouraging and works very well with the team, whilst also taking responsibility. Thank you for all you do James. Nov 2022 Family Network London sponsoring partner I have also been impressed by how James leads the Family Network Committee in London. His real passion for making HSF a great place to work for those with caring responsibilities (in all shapes and forms) is obvious and great to see. On a personal level, he has been a huge pillar of support to me as I transitioned into the banks sector role, supporting me not only in relation to getting me up to speed on banking disputes and FSR, but also as a sounding board for ideas around how to approach. He is a real credit to the firm. May 2021, Senior Business Development Manager James has a great leadership style in this role, he's clearly liked and admired by his committee - which has enabled him to engage their support. He welcomes ideas and has been really supportive when committee members have struggled with particular challenges (e.g. possibility of engaging more with clients). He ensures the team are each taking responsibility of various actions so this doesn't all fall on him, but is forthcoming in ensuring he takes on his part of the 'doing'! Its been great working with James to ensure we're joined up with the network's activity and he's always responsive to our feedback and looking to understand what we're up to as a global team, to ensure the network's acting strategically. Look forward to seeing what the network will deliver next year, particularly in support of a drive to better enable more men to play a role in childcare, as it has some great objectives! Dec 2019, Senior DEI Manager.