James Bateson is a corporate finance lawyer based in London where he is Head of our Financial institutions practice. He specialises in the insurance and financial services sectors and has extensive experience in advising both domestic and international insurers in relation to corporate, regulatory and transactional matters.

James is regularly recommended in legal directories as a leading expert in the insurance field and was named by The Lawyer magazine in its "Hot 100" in 2008. James is listed in Chambers UK 2010 where it states that "sources agree he is a market leader and an authority on a vast array of insurance and financial institutions matters".

James joined the London practice in October 1984 having graduated in law from Southampton University in 1983. He qualified as a solicitor in 1986 and became a partner in 1995.

James is author of the chapter on authorisation in the Practitioners Guide to the Financial Services and Markets Act and is a regular public speaker and media commentator. He is a member of the Insurance Law Sub-Committee of the City of London Law Society.