Dedicated to providing expert legal and professional services

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M 07852 297 138
E james.ramsdenkc@astraea-group.com

James Ramsden KC has an expansive international practice in commercial dispute resolution, regulatory, disciplinary, media, sports and public law serving a diverse clientele of City, corporate, governmental and regulatory clients.

James is recognised by Chambers UK and Chambers Global as a leading King’s Counsel (KC) in commercial dispute resolution and civil fraud, described as “an absolute star” and “a totally dedicated and stellar leader”. He is a committed and versatile advocate who is known for leading cohesive and effective teams in complex and often time-constrained assignments.

James is regarded by most commentators, and recognised consistently in legal awards, as the leading Silk in crypto and digital asset litigation.

James has a strong and longstanding commitment to Advocate (the Bar Pro Bono charity) and in 2021 was nominated as Pro Bono Silk of the Year. James devotes a significant amount of his time to help those who cannot gain access to expert advocacy for financial or other reasons.

James has been admitted to or advised in multiple jurisdictions including, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, US, Russia, Ukraine, Iceland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Australia, BVI, Jersey & Isle of Man. He was recently admitted to the Cayman Bar.

James lectures widely on Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF), fraud and asset recovery and is author and contributing editor for the authoritative practitioner’s reference, Butterworths’ Financial Regulation Service.

T 0208 092 8411
M 07931 388 932
E nina.stewart@astraea-group.com

Nina Stewart is a founding partner of Astraea and leads on execution of strategy and all operational and growth aspects of the firm.

Nina brings a wealth of professional service and board-level business experience to Astraea’s multidisciplinary offering. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and a Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA). The early years of her career were spent at a Big 4 firm in London providing international tax advice to large corporates. Since then, she has worked across a range of sectors including oil and gas, financial services and the legal sector.

Nina has served on Boards and Audit Committees in both the private and charitable sectors, including chairing a private-equity-owned oil services business and serving as a trustee on the Board and chairing the Audit & Risk Committee of the NCT, the UK’s largest parenting charity. She is currently on the Board of the London Football Association (London FA), where she serves as the Independent Non-Executive Finance & Risk Director.

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M 07999 020 743
E rob.bedford@astraea-group.com

Rob is a partner and solicitor in our commercial dispute resolution practice. Rob has deep expertise in resolving complex, high-value, cross-border disputes; often involving thorny conflicts of law and jurisdictional issues and requiring the assembly and tight co-ordination of teams of foreign counsel and specialists.

He oversees a number of the firm’s largest cases, including acting for the claimants in Stati & Ors v Republic of Kazakhstan, a multi-jurisdictional action to enforce a US$500 million arbitral award resulting from breaches of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Other recent instructions include a EUR900 million investment arbitration against the Republic of Moldova and a complex civil fraud and asset recovery action in which worldwide freezing orders were obtained against 29 defendants and Chabra respondents across five jurisdictions. Rob has a growing reputation in relation to crypto disputes and was named as one of Citywealth’s Top 50 Crypto Professionals 2023.

Rob regularly advises a range of clients on sanctions compliance and has led internal investigations into alleged sanctions breaches, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of suspicious payments.

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M 07355 674 158
E piers.rake@astraea-group.com

Piers is the head of Astraea’s intelligence & forensic investigations team, and leads multidisciplinary engagements on behalf of clients who are navigating complex special situations.

Piers is a Solicitor, a CEDR Accredited commercial Mediator, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and Forensic Investigator.

With a background in commercial litigation, Piers has 20 years of experience helping clients to manage risk, resolve disputes and investigate and respond to allegations or instances of financial wrongdoing and non-financial misconduct.

In this time, Piers has lived and worked in the Middle East, and has conducted cross border engagements spanning Europe, the Middle East and North & Sub-Saharan Africa. He has particular experience investigating economic crime and advising regulated businesses on their legal and regulatory obligations, having been global head of financial crime Investigations at Barclays Bank Plc.

Piers has led investigations into organised crime networks, high-end money laundering and fraud, in relation to drugs and human trafficking, ‘shadow-banking’ schemes, trade-based money laundering, cash-funnelling, investment and accounting fraud, cross-border corruption, tax evasion and sanction circumvention.

Piers is an investigator and an adjudicator for one of the UK’s main political parties and undertakes investigations relating to complaints against party members. He is also a Governor, trustee and director of Shiplake College, an Independent co-educational boarding and day school in Oxfordshire.

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E simon.lewis@astraea-group.com

Simon helps Astraea’s clients in complex situations, particularly where there is a reputational dimension and a need for a crisis communications and public relations strategy.

Simon is one of the UK’s most senior and experienced strategic communications advisors. He studied at Oxford University and the University of California, Berkeley, as a Fulbright scholar.

Simon began his career in financial public relations in London during the early 1980s. He was seconded to S.G. Warburg Group in the lead-up to the City’s deregulation in 1986. In 1992, he became Director of Corporate Affairs at NatWest Group, overseeing internal and external communications, including the rebranding of its investment bank.

As a founding member of Centrica’s Executive Team, Simon managed corporate affairs and public policy during its demerger from British Gas, the largest transaction of its kind in the UK. In 1998, he was seconded to Buckingham Palace as the first Communications Secretary to the late Queen, managing communications for the Royal Family.

Returning to Centrica, Simon led European business activities before joining Vodafone Group as Director of Corporate Affairs in 2004, where he handled global communications for the UK’s largest listed company. In 2009, he was appointed Director of Communications and Official Spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.

In 2010, Simon became the founding CEO of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, growing it into a leading trade group. He was awarded an OBE in 2015 for public service and international education contributions.

Simon joined FTI Consulting in 2020 as Vice Chair EMEA and global Head of Financial Services in Strategic Communications. In 2023, he founded Lewis Advisors, focusing on board-level strategic communications.

Simon is Chair of Young Enterprise, an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose College, and co-hosts the BBC Sounds podcast “When it Hits the Fan.”

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E michael.rake@astraea-group.com

Sir Michael Rake helps Astraea’s clients navigate high-stakes special situations, particularly involving complex legal, commercial, financial or leadership issues, or where sensitive regulatory and government engagement may be required

Sir Michael Rake (Sir Mike) is one of the UK’s most well known business leaders, recognised for his expertise in handling crises and complex Special Situations. His strategic counsel is highly sought after in matters involving legal, commercial, financial, leadership, and regulatory issues and he has built a strong reputation as a corporate ‘trouble-shooter’. As Global Chairman of KPMG International, he steered the firm through existential threats, including a potential criminal indictment in the US. Sir Mike has held senior roles at major companies such as BT, Barclays, McGraw Hill (S&P Global), and easyJet, guiding them through significant challenges during and after the financial crisis.

He has advised UK Prime Ministers from different political parties, held multiple business advocacy and government advisory roles and been involved in a number of successful private equity investments, including the IPO of Worldpay Inc (now FIS Global). As part of his various roles, Sir Mike maintained close relationships with the UK’s security services. His international experience spans the US, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, with expertise in sectors including professional services, banking and payments, telecoms, airlines, technology, oil and gas, healthcare and education.

Sir Mike was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 for his services to accountancy and made a Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan in 2021, for his work on strengthening UK-Japan economic relations. Currently, he chairs Wireless Logic Ltd, Newday Ltd, Phoenix Global Resources and Majid Al Futtaim Holdings. He also serves as a senior advisor to Elliott Advisors and a director of Trust Payments Ltd. Sir Mike was Chairman of the governors at Wellington College until 2016 and Chair of Great Ormond Street Hospital until 2023.

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E kathryn.ludlow@astraea-group.com

Kathryn helps Astraea represent its clients in navigating complex situations, particularly where actual or potential disputes, litigious situations and investigations are involved.

Kathryn is a lawyer, qualified in the UK and in Hong Kong. She was a partner at international law firm Linklaters LLP. During her 31 year career at Linklaters Kathryn specialised in complex investigations and dispute resolution in the UK and internationally for a broad range of clients in different sectors, including Big Four accountancy firms, major banks and corporates. Her work gave her significant domestic, international and cross border experience in contentious situations.

Kathryn was Linklaters’ first Global Pro Bono partner and chaired the Global Corporate Responsibility Committee. She was a member of the firm’s Partner Election Committee for several years.

Kathryn has set up her own consultancy business carrying out independent internal investigations for clients. She has been a Trustee of various legal advice charities as well as of the humanitarian charity International Rescue Committee UK and the theatre company in Truro, Hall for Cornwall. She is a non executive director of The Great Ormond Street Hospital.

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E jamil.el-imad@astraea-group.com

Dr. Jamil El-Imad brings extensive expertise in IT systems design, technology audits, multimedia technologies, and digital health, developed through his work with leading blue-chip companies. Currently, he operates in both business and academia, focusing on cutting-edge technologies and providing advisory services to UHNW clients and prominent Family Offices across the Middle East and globally. His deep knowledge of disruptive technologies and adept problem-solving makes him a highly valuable advisor to clients facing complex challenges or looking to seize new opportunities.

A pioneer in developing innovative solutions for brain research, artificial intelligence (AI), brain-computer interfaces (BCI), and virtual reality (VR), Dr. El-Imad is known for leveraging advanced technologies to tackle complex issues. He has successfully led large-scale, multi-sector projects on platforms such as IBM, working with major corporations including Halliburton, Roussel Laboratories (now Sanofi), and the Juffali Group, a prominent Middle Eastern conglomerate with partnerships with global firms such as Siemens, IBM, Dow Chemical, Mercedes Benz, Carrier, and Ericsson.

Dr. El-Imad serves as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. He has also held leadership roles as Chief Scientist at NeuroPro and Virtually Live Media, contributing to groundbreaking advancements in brain science, signal processing, and VR, including the development of Metaverse media for live events.  As CEO of The Brain Forum for nearly a decade, Dr. El-Imad played a key role in promoting global brain research. He holds multiple patents in VR and BCI technologies and is a frequent speaker at international events such as TED, the Financial Times US Health Summit, and The Royal Albert Hall’s “Imagining the Future of Medicine.”

In addition, Dr. El-Imad serves as a Scientific Reviewer for the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. He holds an MBA and PhD from the University of Leicester and is a Fellow of both the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) and Imperial College London. He is currently based in Abu Dhabi.

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M 07900 695 695
E oliver.mishcon@astraea-group.com

Oliver Mishcon is an experienced barrister with a diverse practice specialising in high-value commercial disputes and regulatory issues, with a focus on the financial sector.

Practising independently at the Bar of England & Wales, Oliver represents individuals and businesses, often handling cases with significant international dimensions. His expertise spans white collar crime, bribery and corruption investigations, contentious regulatory enforcement, banking disputes and litigation, asset recovery and protection, asset tracing, commercial fraud, and general commercial disputes.

Oliver has developed a boutique practice and many of his assignments are conducted alongside complex investigations and crisis management operations.

In addition to his legal practice, Oliver is an experienced conference speaker and lecturer, contributing regularly to print media, TV, and radio, and writing articles in specialist publications.

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M 07958 193 419
E james.badcock@astraea-group.com

James Badcock is a leading private client lawyer specialising in trusts, estate planning and taxation. He has deep experience advising private clients, family offices and trustees from around the world on matters including governance, succession planning, taxation, philanthropy and fiduciary risk management. He also brings his trust expertise to bear in contentious matters.

James qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and from 2011 to 2019 was a partner at a central London law firm. He transferred to their Geneva office before returning to the UK as head of Private Client. James subsequently held a senior role in the legal division of a ‘Big 4’ accountancy firm in London.

James is named in Chambers High Net Worth 2021 for Private Wealth Law where one interviewee commented, “He has a lot of cross-border experience, he is good at dealing with clients and knotty issues. He is a very amenable lawyer, he is very strategic in his thinking and knowledgeable.

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M 07756 871 134
E joe.young@astraea-group.com

Joe leads on various contentious legal matters at Astraea and heads the firm’s internal Knowledge and Training programs. Joe provides simple and efficient solutions to complex disputes, typically advising on international and high-value claims for either claimants or defendants.

Joe joined Astraea after 10 years as a litigator at a leading international law firm. He has advised at all stages of litigation from pre-action to trial and has managed successful proceedings in both the High Court and appellate courts. Joe has advised a range of clients from listed companies to HNW individuals. Joe has also advised on various arbitrations from inception to the final hearing. Examples include: acting for the claimant in one of the biggest Civil Fraud cases in history; acting for an aircraft manufacturer at both first instance and in the Court of Appeal in a multi-million dispute with an airline; acting in a variety of interim applications (e.g. freezing orders, disclosure orders, summary judgment, and security for costs etc.); and, deploying ADR mechanisms and attending many mediations.

Joe has a first-class degree in Economics & Politics and taught maths in secondary schools in Yorkshire and London before turning to law. Joe served for four years as school governor at a secondary school in a disadvantaged part of East London and wrote a leading blog on Shared Parental Leave.

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M 07542 600 486
E tanya.costello@astraea-group.com

Tanya Costello leads Astraea’s clients and markets strategy, which includes special situations horizon scanning, thought leadership and the development and delivery of Astraea’s multidisciplinary special situations offering.

Tanya has a background in political risk consulting, with a specialism in Russia and Eurasia. She has worked with corporate, financial and government clients in New York, Tokyo and London operating across a range of sectors, including oil and gas, mining, and retail. Tanya has travelled widely for research purposes, including to Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Tanya has a first-class degree in Russian from the University of Birmingham and a Masters in International Relations from the London School of Economics. She is also a trained barrister (unregistered) and an accredited civil and commercial mediator. In addition, Tanya has experience in the voluntary sector, most recently monitoring an immigration detention facility for the Independent Monitoring Board.

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M 07999 025 134
E rory.mulchrone@astraea-group.com

An experienced barrister, Rory is a key member of Astraea’s dispute resolution and regulatory and compliance advisory teams.

Rory acts for clients involved in disputes of all kinds, from individuals facing claims of fraud or unfair prejudice, to businesses being sued for breach of contract, to national regulators bringing (or professionals facing) allegations of misconduct. An experienced, confident and persuasive advocate, he is also authorised to conduct litigation.

On the advisory side, Rory draws on his experience as a prosecutor to provide particular expertise in relation to compliance issues, including professional standards, domestic and international sanctions and anti-money laundering.

Rory took a 1st Class degree from University College London in 2007 and later gained a Masters from the Royal Northern College of Music. He was called to the Bar in 2009, having been awarded Middle Temple’s prestigious Queen Mother Scholarship the previous year.

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M 07999 023 118
E lisa.mccreath@astraea-group.com

Lisa is a key member of Astraea’s commercial disputes, asset recovery and enforcement team and is a dual qualified solicitor in Scotland, England and Wales. Lisa has particular experience of commercial disputes involving cross-border elements or civil fraud, as well as international arbitration and enforcement against sovereign states.

Lisa has conducted and assisted with claims and appeals across the UK court system as well as foreign courts with the support of local counsel. She has advised corporations, financial institutions and individuals across a range of industry sectors, including hospitality, banking, manufacturing, telecoms, energy, technology and government.

In addition to litigation, Lisa’s arbitration portfolio includes claims before many major arbitral institutions and rules including LCIA, ICC and DIAC. She is well versed in the Court’s powers to facilitate arbitration, including through anti-suit injunctions.  Lisa also has significant experience of enforcement of arbitral awards in sovereign state-investor disputes. As part of an Astraea team representing foreign investors, Lisa worked on the landmark resolution for the enforcement of an SCC arbitral award against a sovereign state.

Lisa is known for her pragmatic approach, which enables clients to take advice at the earliest opportunity and to develop a cohesive strategy in line with their budgets and goals. She is recognised in Legal 500 as a “key lawyer” within Astraea Group and recommended as a “rising star with an amazing ability to handle complex and factually-voluminous cases”.

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M 07712 177 663
E khrystyna.khanas@astraea-group.com

Khrystyna is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Ukrainian advocate, specialising in cross-border commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on civil fraud disputes. Khrystyna worked on some of the leading high-profile cases in the UK concerning asset tracing and recovery, often involving freezing injunctions, disclosure orders and other forms of interim relief. She has also worked on major fraud disputes relating to crypto assets.

Khrystyna has acted for both Claimants and Defendants in large and complex commercial disputes in the High Court of Justice and arbitration proceedings under the LCIA rules. She has experience in dealing with disputes throughout all stages of proceedings leading up to and including trials, as well as various interim applications and, in particular, complex disclosure exercises.

Khrystyna has deep knowledge and understanding of the political and legal environments in Ukraine and Eurasia more generally. She is a regular contributor to Astraea’s thought leadership work on the region.

Khrystyna completed a PhD in Criminal Justice from Ivan Franko National University in Lviv (Ukraine) in 2013. She is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian and can read Polish in a professional context.

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M 07907 716 534
E rachel.mcgee@astraea-group.com

Rachel is an associate working across all areas of Astraea’s commercial dispute resolution practice. Since joining the firm, Rachel has formed a key part of our asset recovery and enforcement team. She has a particular interest in international arbitration and has worked as part of the team representing foreign investors in the enforcement of an SCC arbitral award against a sovereign state.

Rachel trained at Astraea, qualifying as a solicitor in 2024 through the SQE route.

Rachel has a degree in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Liverpool and a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) from BPP University.

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M 07428 047 423
E francesca.ridout@astraea-group.com

Francesca is a Chinese law specialist with expertise in sanctions, corporate intelligence, transactional due diligence, and deal advisory. She is a Mandarin speaker and spent four years living in mainland China (including in Xinjiang).

Francesca has led multi-jurisdictional human source and open-source investigations into Asia Pacific infrastructure projects and their stakeholders. She has also scrutinised national critical infrastructure under the UK’s National Security and Investment Act 2021. More recently, Francesca has supported semiconductor companies ensure their ongoing compliance with October 7 regulations through in-depth supply chain investigations. She is currently providing operational support to energy and technology enterprises as they navigate complex sanctions worldwide, with a particular focus on US and UK sanctions on China.

Francesca holds a first class MA(Hons) International Business with Chinese from the University of Edinburgh, and an LL.M. Chinese Law from Peking University.

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M 07712 168 130
E jane.huxley@astraea-group.com

With over 20 years’ experience in the legal field, Jane supports the wider Astraea team with know-how, training, and business development.

Jane has worked in both finance and commercial litigation. She has advised on a wide variety of finance transactions (asset finance, consumer credit, leasing, property finance and project finance) as well as complex multi-jurisdictional disputes (with experience of both Court proceedings and arbitration).

More recently, Jane has worked as a professional support lawyer with responsibility for precedents, know-how and legal training. In that role, Jane helped create and update a suite of finance precedents (Facility Agreements and Security Documents) based on the Loan Market Association form and led a firm-wide project on the execution of documents using e-signatures. Jane is especially interested in the use of technology to improve legal process.

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M 07561 103 783
E louis.totton@astraea-group.com

Louis is an experienced corporate investigator who regularly supports clients in contentious and high-pressure scenarios. Louis specialises in providing actionable intelligence and evidence to support creative dispute resolution strategies, including through complex asset tracing and recovery.

Louis has also regularly conducted cross-jurisdictional investigations into sanctions compliance and circumvention, money laundering, fraud, bribery and other forms of white-collar crime.

In addition, Louis assists clients to understand the risks and threats emanating from investments in high-risk markets, particularly in the Former Soviet Union.

Prior to joining Astraea Group, Louis worked in the corporate intelligence practices of two international consulting firms. Louis has a degree in Russian and Spanish from the University of Cambridge, and in addition speaks fluent French.
Louis is currently studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

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M 07712 181 442
E flora.ramsden@astraea-group.com

Flora is an Intelligence & Investigations Senior Analyst with several years’ experience in the legal and intelligence fields in both Singapore and London. Flora has conducted multi-jurisdictional research and analysis in cases of geopolitical conflicts, fraud, corruption, investment strategy, due diligence, asset recovery, and risk management.

Flora has undertaken training in advanced open source intelligence techniques, as well as digital assets and blockchain technologies. She has a law degree from the London School of Economics and is currently working towards the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

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M 07751 809 042
E aleksandra.haustova@astraea-group.com

Aleksandra is a Trainee Solicitor and joined Astraea after completing her LPC in Reading. Aleksandra is regularly involved in matters involving freezing injunctions and advice on compliance with financial sanctions.

Before joining Astraea, Aleksandra worked in international and boutique law firms as a paralegal, where she gained experience assisting on litigation matters including contractual disputes, misrepresentation, debt recovery and civil fraud. Before embarking on her legal career, Aleksandra earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Philology from the University of Latvia. As part of her undergraduate studies, she spent six months studying at the University of Verona, Italy, enhancing her Italian language skills. She then pursued a Master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Bristol, focusing on international security and human rights.

Aleksandra is fluent in Russian and conversant in Latvian and Italian.

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M 07742 883 728
E luisa.asta@astraea-group.com

Luisa manages all day-to-day administrative and internal operations for the firm. In addition, she works on improvements to the company’s processes and procedures and is involved in implementing and integrating new technologies and systems.

Luisa joined Astraea Group after working as an operations manager for over 18 years in wealth management and, more recently, in disruptive technologies. She has experience setting up and managing complex international structures, project management, and overseeing compliance and governance.

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M 07795 389 765
E nancy.pearson@astraea-group.com

Nancy manages all finance matters for Astraea, as well as leading on improvements and integration regarding the firm’s practice management and IT systems.

Nancy joined Astraea after working as a finance manager and controller for seven years in the recruitment and HR sector. She has had a varied career, mostly working in operations where she managed creative/marketing teams either client or agency side on large blue-chip brands.

Aside from her finance capabilities, Nancy has experience of leading large complex rollouts, from multi-country below-the-line product launches and loyalty programmes for manufacturing and engineering products, to global e-commerce platform releases in the automotive, retail and entertainment sectors.

T 0208 092 8411
E finance@astraea-group.com

James joined Astraea in 2022 and supports the finance team with all aspects of legal finance compliance. James has over 27 years’ experience in the legal finance field and has led teams in several medium-sized laws firms.

James is skilled in SRA Accounts Rules Compliance, COFA compliance and legal finance training. He has a Diploma from The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) and Associate level qualifications focused on Solicitors Accounts Rules, Accounting, Financial Management and Legal Practice.

James’ expertise in legal finance has seen him write practice and compliance guidance notes for legal software providers.

James has won several awards in previous roles, including Employee of the Year, Office Go To for two consecutive years, Leading the Support Team of the Year and winner of the Institute of Legal Finance and Management Aran bowl for his outstanding contributions to the Institute.