Expertise
James Coleman is a dual-qualified international lawyer admitted in the United States and in England & Wales. He practises in complex commercial litigation and international arbitration, with a particular focus on disputes involving cross-border structures, state or state-adjacent actors, choice of law, jurisdictional challenges, and enforcement risk.
At Gateley Legal, James works on high-value commercial litigation and international arbitration with a strong international and public-law dimension. His matters include disputes involving sovereign or quasi-sovereign entities, cross-border regulatory authority, and politically sensitive commercial activity. He drafts core submissions, shapes evidential and jurisdictional strategy, and prepares cases for hearing. His work frequently engages questions of attribution, jurisdiction, applicable law, remedies, and enforcement against assets across multiple jurisdictions. He regularly works with clients, experts, and counsel from different legal systems and cultural backgrounds.
Before joining Gateley, James practised in the United States as an advocate in federal and state courts. His work included arguing dispositive and interlocutory motions, examining fact and expert witnesses, and making contested oral and written submissions in commercial, banking, competition, fraud, and mass-tort disputes, as well as domestic and international arbitration. He acted on behalf of major multinationals in significant jury trials across the United States. He also served as Tribunal Secretary in ICC arbitrations and assisted clients in matters involving US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, as well as in public corruption and fraud investigations under other state and federal laws.
James is active in the international arbitration and commercial law communities. He is a North America Representative of the ICC Young Arbitration & ADR Forum and coaches Northwestern University’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot team.
Originally from Ireland and also a US citizen, James received his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and his Bachelor of Civil Law degree from University College Dublin School of Law. He also served as a Judicial Extern to the Honourable Sara L. Ellis in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Before practising law, he ran the Brussels and Strasbourg Parliamentary offices of a Member of the European Parliament.