James practises in common and commercial law. He accepts briefs in personal injuries (TAC, asbestos related diseases, WorkCover, Medical negligence, and public liability), inquests, insurance and reinsurance, and professional negligence. He has experience acting for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Prior to joining the Victorian Bar, James practised as a barrister at a leading common law set in London, having been called to the bar at Inner Temple in 2015. During his time at the English Bar James was in court regularly. Whilst he generally appeared alone, he also assisted in cases heard in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. James has also previously practised as a solicitor with Slater & Gordon in Victoria.
James holds a BSc (Hons) in mathematics, an LLB and an LLM from the University of Melbourne, and an MBA and DPhil in law from the University of Oxford (Christ Church). Whilst at Oxford, James also taught contract law, tort law, and Roman Private law. James has a particular interest in the law of negligence (especially the duty of care, purely economic loss, causation, and vicarious liability), and his research has been published in a number of leading law journals, including the Law Quarterly Review, Cambridge Law Journal, Monash Law Review, Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, and Journal of Professional Negligence. James is also the author of the forthcoming monograph, ‘The Duty of Care in Negligence’ (Hart 2017), the first book-length treatment of the duty enquiry in a common law jurisdiction in almost 20 years.
James’ mentor is Dugald McWilliams and his senior mentor is Paul O’Dwyer SC. Away from chambers, James enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and supporting the Mighty Saints.
Publications
Conference Papers
- Prince Alfred College and Vicarious Liability (Australian Lawyers Alliance Annual Victorian Conference, Bendigo, May, 2017) (forthcoming)
- Duty Methodologies in Australia, Canada and the UK (Obligations VIII, Cambridge, July 2016)
- When is a material contribution enough to establish causation? (12KBW Seminar, Temple, London, March 2016)
- Principle and Policy in Private Law Reasoning (SLS Annual Conference, Nottingham, September 2014).
- The Medieval Origins of the Duty of Care (Oxford Graduate Legal Research Conference, Oxford, April 2012)
Articles / Notes
- Damages and Compensation Culture: Comparative Perspectives, (2017) Professional Negligence (book review) (forthcoming)
- Vicarious Liability in Australia: On the move? (2017) Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal (with James Goudkamp) (forthcoming)
- Evidential Uncertainty in Causation in Negligence by Gemma Turton (Hart 2016) (2016) 23 Torts Law Journal 186 (book review)
- Taking Stock of Vicarious Liability (2016) 132 Law Quarterly Review 556 (case note)
- Causation in Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer Claims (2016) 32 Professional Negligence 158 (case note)
- Principle and Policy in Private Law Reasoning (2016) 75 Cambridge Law Journal 366
- The Historical Foundations of the Duty of Care (2015) 41 Monash Law Review 716.
- Tort Law Defences by James Goudkamp (Hart 2013) (2014) 88 Australian Law Journal 214 (book review).
- Snail in a Bottle Leaves Trail (2012) 86(7) Law Institute Journal 57.
- The Role of the Attorney-General in Defending the Judiciary (2010) 19 Journal of Judicial Administration 160.
- Take Care with Negligence (2010) 84(5) Law Institute Journal 38.
- Limitation Periods in Personal Injury Actions, (2009) 92(3) Precedent 30.
Books
- The Duty of Care in Negligence (2017 Hart)
The information referred to above has been supplied by the barrister concerned. Neither Lennon’s List Barristers nor The Victorian Bar Inc have independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the information and neither accepts any responsibility in that regard.
