James leads the Business and Human Rights team, based in London. A strategic leader with a global reputation in the field, James helps clients with their key drivers of concern: regulation, litigation, reputation, investment and improvement.
Having engaged with government and corporate policy over decades, he cuts through complexity, developing programmes that will have a lasting and positive impact. Responsive and collaborative, James’s role is to facilitate the innovation, efficiency, employee retention, capacity building and resilience that will protect his clients.
Recent engagements include:
- Investigating labour exploitation issues exposed by an international NGO at a large multinational. Developed a remediation and future harm avoidance programme and led engagement with the NGO, resulting in significant worker remediation
- Investigating allegations of forced labour in Saudi Arabia and delivering a unique harm remediation strategy that positively impacted over 2,000 workers
- Preparing a US-based energy company for the requirements of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
- Undertaking a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) for a company in the Japanese automotive sector
- Devising a novel human rights saliency methodology for a global mining company
James has a 20-year track record of delivering effective solutions and leading high-performance global teams. His unique combination of legal, policy, academic, NGO, commercial and grassroots experience gives him an unusually nuanced perspective. He was based in the Middle East for a decade, engaging in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Nepal, India and East Africa.
Previously Director of Human Rights at a global risk analytics firm, James is a practicing English Solicitor. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of York, a PhD in International Human Rights Law and Political Economy and an MA in International Relations, both from King’s College London, and various postgraduate legal qualifications. He founded the law firm Lincoln Associates and the consultancy firm Ethical Innovations, and co-founded UN award-winning fair labour company FSI Worldwide.