Partner
James is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team in London. He qualified in 2002 and has over 20 years’ experience in advising individual and business clients.
James is a trusted adviser for clients across all commercial disputes including contractual claims, company and shareholder disputes and personal guarantees. He frequently acts in high-profile and multi-jurisdictional cases and he is highly regarded as a fraud specialist.
James is an expert in freezing injunctions and other forms of urgent relief including search orders and passport orders. He is a “go to” lawyer for contempt of court proceedings (formerly committal applications) where he has acted in the leading cases and the longest ever committal hearing in the UK.
An increasing area of practice is advising companies as intervenors in matrimonial proceedings; typically where one spouse alleges that the company is a “resource” for the other or that there have been fraudulent transactions to divest matrimonial assets.
Acting for both claimants and defendants, James uses his extensive experience on both sides of the fence to advise clients on the wider picture and best strategy. James has a tenacious but highly commercial approach which is always geared to achieving the best possible outcome for clients. He is a skilled negotiator and finds creative and cost-effective solutions to the most complex problems.
Prior to joining Ashfords, James was a partner in a west end litigation firm and head of the Dispute Resolution team at a City firm. He also heads our London office.
James has a strong reputation in the industry and in the Legal 500: “James Crighton is very bright, hard-working, and absolutely dedicated to his clients. He provides an exceptional level of client care.”
