James Brown

Associate

• jbrown@steptoe.com
• vCard
• London Office

James Brown is an associate in the London office of Steptoe & Johnson and is a member of the International Dispute Resolution group.  He is an English qualified solicitor and represents clients in complex, high-value litigations and arbitrations.  He also has extensive, recent and successful mediation experience.

James qualified in the London office of a leading English law firm.  Since then he has worked at the London offices of two other leading U.S. law firms.

Clients/Industries

Clients have included UK and overseas companies, foreign states and state agencies, and high net-worth individuals in a wide variety of commercial disputes relating to industries as diverse as oil & gas, banking/financial services, shipbuilding, telecommunications, retailing, the hotel industry, property development, the legal profession and the defence industry.

He has lectured on aspects of international arbitration to Beijing University, East China University of Politics and Law (Shanghai) and the Jiangsu regional bar association (China). He has also presented seminars on issues associated with dispute resolution to a visiting delegation of in-house counsel from a Chinese State aviation corporation, and to the London subsidiary of a Chinese state oil company.

Representative Matters

• Advising a Middle East state-owned investment company on merits and strategy in relation to a ship-purchase/re-financing dispute.
• Advising an African national oil company in a Commercial Court action concerning ownership of surplus insurance premium.
• Acting for an African national oil company in a Commercial Court dispute concerning delivery of specialist piping.
• Advising a large Chinese state oil company in relation to a dispute with a foreign state oil company over demurrage.
• Advising a leading U.S. commercial and consumer finance company in relation to third party disclosure/witness evidence requests made of it by parties engaged in major Commercial Court proceedings.
• Acting for an African government in arbitral proceedings brought by an Asian conglomerate concerning breaches of a joint venture agreement and the alleged expropriation of joint venture assets.
• Acting for a leading branded garment manufacturer in arbitral proceedings against a national retailer arising from a long term supply agreement.
• Acting for a UK derivatives brokerage company in conjunction with German lawyers to defend a claim brought in Germany by an investor seeking restitution of trading losses involving allegations of alleged lack of capacity on the part of the investor to enter into derivatives contracts.
• Acting for a major property development company against an alleged agent in a dispute relating to a significant proposed development project.
• Acting for a U.S. bank defending allegations made against it that it knowingly assisted in the commission of serious alleged breaches of fiduciary duty owed by certain company directors.
• Acting for a construction company in an ICC arbitration against a West African state.
• Acting for an Indian company defending a claim by way of an LCIA arbitration brought by a U.S. investment bank for payment of a "success fee".
• Acting for a U.K. company pursuing debt and damages claims against the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
• Obtaining and defending freezing injunctions and other forms of ancillary relief including disclosure orders in the context of English court proceedings, and in support of both foreign court and arbitral proceedings.
• Advising on appropriate contractual dispute resolution provisions for inclusion in commercial contracts.

Publications

• China: A perspective on International Arbitration in China, Recent Developments and CIETAC Arbitration
  2004, Construction Law Journal

Professional Affiliations

• Member of LCIA, Young International Arbitration Group
• Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators