James was educated at UNSW (LLB) and Monash University (BA). He was a solicitor for 5 years with Ashurst and Telstra Corporation Limited. He has been a barrister since 2004.
He appears and negotiates in Courts, boardrooms and in regulatory forums.
His analytical and written skills were instrumental to SingTel in its takeover of Optus (2001 International deal of the year) ($13Bn) and to Telstra in various mergers and acquisitions in Australia and the United States ($10M to $425M) as well as in implementing GST for Telstra in 2000 for a $20Bn pa revenue stream.