James Wilson

Partner

James specialises in public law and complex investigatory matters having spent the last four years in the role of Solicitor to the Inquiry on the Undercover Police Inquiry, where he led a large legal team supporting Sir John Mitting’s investigation into the truth of undercover policing since 1968 in order to make recommendations for the future.

James was formerly a Deputy Director at the Government Legal Department, and part of the Home Office, Immigration and Litigation teams. Prior to this he spent 14 years as an investigator and prosecutor at the Serious Fraud Office, where he led investigations and prosecutions of the UK’s most document-heavy, complex and serious high-profile international fraud, bribery and corruption cases as well as specialising in complex overseas fugitive location and extradition. In 2017 James led the investigation and prosecution that resulted in the SFO’s longest ever sentence for financial crime.

He also led the initial investigation and subsequent high volume and extensive LPP and disclosure reviews in a highly complex £450m international hedge fund case involving fraud, forgery, false accounting and fraudulent trading, going on to give evidence about the approach to these processes at a trial resulting in successful convictions.

Before joining the SFO James worked as a commercial litigator in the private sector and has wide experience of civil, criminal and public law practice and procedure.

Jurisdiction: England & Wales