Thomas joined Chambers as a tenant in October 2021, following the successful completion of his pupillage. He sat with Jeremy Callman, Richard Dew, Georgia Bedworth, Naomi Winston and James MacDougald, gaining experience in all of Chambers’ core practice areas.
He is now building a broad chancery practice, incorporating a range of advisory work, litigation and arbitration. Thomas regularly appears in the High Court and County Court, alongside gaining experience in more specialist courts such as the First-tier tribunal (Tax chamber) and the Court of Protection. He is equally happy acting led or unled and is often instructed against counsel considerably senior to him. He recently appeared as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal in Gorbachev v Guriev [2022] EWCA Civ 1270, [2023] 2 W.L.R. 1.
Before joining Chambers, Thomas worked in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) as Judicial Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Patten. He has tutored extensively in trusts law and now writes for Practical Law on a range of topics.
Examples of reported decisions include:
Executors of the estate of Linington and another v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2023] UKFTT 89 (TC) (Inheritance tax valuation of interests in settled property)
Gorbachev v Guriev [2022] EWCA Civ 1270, [2023] 2 W.L.R. 1 (Offshore trustee disclosure)
Paul v Paul [2022] EWHC 1638 (Fam) (Acting for minor beneficiary in a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975)
Property
Thomas frequently advises on property disputes, with particular experience in trusts of land disputes, proprietary estoppel and claims concerning the co-ownership of land.
Before coming to the Bar, Thomas tutored extensively in trusts and land law.
Qualifications
- BPP Law School – Excellence Award
- The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple – Diplock Scholarship
- The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple – Certificate of Honour
- BPP Law School, London – Bar Professional Training Course, Outstanding
- BPP Law School, London – Graduate Diploma in Law, Distinction
- University of Exeter – BA (Hons) History with Study Abroad, First Class
Associations & Memberships
- Chancery Bar Association
- Contentious Trusts Association
- Court of Protection Bar Association
- Association of Partnership Practitioners
Thomas James is a self-employed, independent barrister whose practice is regulated by the Bar Standards Board [Bar Council Ref 70491]. He is fully insured with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [BMIF Ref 2360/082] to provide legal services, please refer to the BMIF website for full details of the world-wide cover provided. He is registered for VAT under the reference 386587924.
