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Education, Qualifications and Languages
James studied English Literature at the University of Leeds.
James studied English Literature at the University of Leeds.
James Phoenix is an R&D AI Lead for Linklaters’ Applied Intelligence Group, based in London. His role sits at the intersection of legal practice and AI delivery: researching, building, shipping and embedding AI tools across the firm’s global network, as well as advising clients upon the implications of AI for their businesses. James practiced as a litigator and investigations specialist for ten years before transitioning into AI full-time, initially through a six-month internal GenAI secondment in 2025.
Between 2023 and 2024 James used AI to “vibe-code” a prototype of the Narrative Checker Tool: an Excel plugin that uses Linklaters’ in-house AI platform Laila to make reviewing legal narratives more efficient. During his secondment from March 2025 James led on the further development of the tool, which launched firmwide on 1 September 2025; providing James with unique expertise on the practical realities of developing and deploying meaningful production AI solutions in an enterprise context.
In his current role, James works across practice groups globally to identify frontier AI developments relevant to the firm, evaluate AI models, and then use AI to productionise those developments by developing scalable production-ready tools and insights for the firm and its clients. James continues to advise clients on the impact of AI developments, particularly in respect of privilege.
James is fully AI-forward, doing most of his work using agentic AI, often with tools he has built for himself, and (as of April 2026) had clocked over 1,000 hours in Claude Code across the prior five working months.
James’ recent matters include:
James speaks regularly on agentic AI and its implications for legal practice. He spoke at the Society for Computers & Law 2024 conference on the potential impact of agentic AI on the legal profession, and contributed the article “Notes From the Jagged Frontier: Agentic AI, Coding and the Law” to the Society for Computers & Law, both drawing on his unique experience of building and deploying the Narrative Checker Tool for enterprise deployment.