We provide a wide range of advocacy and advisory services in the UK and internationally. We pride ourselves on our approachable and friendly outlook and our ability to build strong relationships with clients. Our barristers have received over 40 individual rankings covering 15 practice areas across the legal directories, including in Civil Fraud, Commercial Litigation, Insolvency and Travel amongst others. We are supported by a highly experienced, friendly and responsive clerking team, headed by James Donovan.
James has an extensive commercial and public law practice spanning the UK and the Caribbean. His courtroom experience spans the High Court (including the Commercial Court) and County Court of England and Wales, the Supreme Court of Barbados, and the Privy Council. James is adept at handling commercial cases, especially those involving fraud claims, corporate governance issues, digital assets, or economic sanctions.
Beyond his barrister practice, James maintains a busy practice as an attorney-at-law in the Caribbean and contributes his expertise as a legal consultant for the Bank of England. Before joining the English Bar, he practised in Barbados and trained in Trinidad and Tobago. He was also a judicial assistant to Lady Justice Asplin in the English Court of Appeal.
His recent and ongoing cases showcase his diverse expertise and international scope:
James has been deeply engaged in the digital assets/blockchain space since 2017. His counsel has covered a broad spectrum of legal issues, including claims to recover digital assets, US$20m public sale and token generation events, launching and governing a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), issuing privacy tokens, the enforceability of simple agreements for future tokens (SAFTs), and regulatory requirements under the UK’s AML/CTF regime. He is currently advising a Swiss Foundation associated with a popular blockchain protocol (by market cap) on various issues relating to the enforceability of smart contracts, including formation, applicable law, and jurisdiction (led by Jeffrey Golden KC (Hon)).
James has an extensive Caribbean practice and has worked on disputes in Barbados, Trinidad, Antigua, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Bermuda, Bahamas, and more. As a holder of the Legal Education Certificate and a Bajan citizen, he is one of a handful of English barristers entitled to practise law generally before the Bars of several Caribbean countries.
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Banking and Financial Services
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Administrative and Constitutional Law
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James is able to accept instructions directly from members of the public, companies and other entities through the public access scheme (also known as direct access). He is happy to accept instructions on a direct basis in appropriate cases. If you wish to instruct James on a direct basis, please speak to the clerks.
For more information on public access, please see the Bar Council website.
Please contact us either by telephone: +44 (0)20 7415 7800 or email: clerks@3harecourt.com