James Hennah

James is widely recognised as one of the key advisers in the defence of corporate and financial services institutions in group litigation and class actions, in particular concerning alleged competition law breaches, having advised on many of the key cases since this area of law was in its infancy in England, and a significant proportion of the most important cases currently progressing through the English courts and Competition Appeal Tribunal. 

James is described by clients in the leading legal directories as “tipped for the top”, “a pleasure to work with and fully on top of the details of the case and the bigger strategic picture” and having “extensive expertise that enables him to successfully deal with all related matters of a litigation”.

Work highlights

• Advising Anglian Water in its successful defence of collective proceedings brought on behalf of consumers in the Competition Appeal Tribunal concerning the alleged misleading of regulators in connection with wastewater spillages
• Advising the UK Department for Transport as an intervener in multiple sets of collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, concerning allegations of abuse of dominance by train operating companies in fare-setting and sales practices
• Defending Microsoft in collective proceedings alleging abuse of dominance in the market for cloud services
• Advising in connection with ongoing claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal concerning alleged abuse by Google of a dominant position in respect of its Shopping and AdSense services
• Defending a major food and beverage business in claims in England brought by large numbers of foreign individuals and businesses concerning alleged collusion in agricultural markets
• Advising in defence of ongoing English claims by large numbers of individuals concerning alleged environmental contamination in Brazil
• Acting for a major airline in defence of high-profile follow-on competition damages actions brought by c.65,000 claimants in respect of an alleged air cargo cartel, which concluded with a successful settlement following more than a decade of litigation
• Acting for one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturers in defence of the first claim seeking damages as a result of alleged competition law breaches to go to trial in England

James is a long-standing member of Linklaters’ HeForShe/GEN committees and is a champion of shared parental leave within the firm.

Client feedback to leading legal directories includes that James is “a rising star, delivering great counsel and excellent client service”.

James regularly contributes to leading publications, as well as holding client seminars and webinars on key developments and topics within the group litigation and competition litigation spheres.

During his tenure at Linklaters, James has been seconded to roles in two multinational banks, with a focus on investigations and significant commercial disputes.