James McCreath

Pensions

James is recognised as one of the leading pensions juniors at the Bar.  The current edition of The Legal 500 describes him as “A real team player, extremely bright with excellent drafting skills” while Chambers and Partners commends his responsiveness and attention to detail.  He has extensive experience in pensions litigation, regulatory work (where he has acted in most of the high profile regulatory actions in recent years) and advisory work.  As well as work in his own right, he has juniored for most of the leading pensions silks, inside and outside of Chambers.

His work covers areas including the construction of scheme rules generally, equalisation, indexation, insolvency (including s.75 debts and guarantees), trustee investment duties, and validity of amendments.  He has very significant experience in regulatory work, and has been involved in a number of high value rectification cases, including cases involving successive “IBM” rectification, and cases raising issues of construction alongside possible rectification.

He also acts in a variety of often very high-value professional negligence actions, both for and against professionals, trustees, and scheme consultants and administrators.  In that context, he has acted (including acting unled) for some of the leading pensions solicitors’ firms defending actions brought against them.

Example cases in the public domain include:

• Box Clever: James acted for the Targets in the FSD trial (the first ever trial in the Upper Tribunal under the moral hazard powers), and in the Court of Appeal, and continues to act in the quantum proceedings.
• BT: James acted for the rep ben in successfully resisting a change in the index for increasing pensions from RPI to CPI (a move that would have cost the members around £2 billion).
• Carrington Wire: James acted for two Targets in these contribution notice proceedings.
• Nortel: James was part of the team for the Trustee in both the North American insolvency litigation and also the English FSD proceedings.
• Shannon v Viavi: James acted unled for the Trustees at first instance and in the Court of Appeal.
• Silentnight: James acted for the Targets in the high-profile contribution notice proceedings arising out of the pre-pack administration of the well-known bed manufacturer.
• Thales: James acted for the defendant trustee successfully resisting a change in the index for increasing pensions from RPI to CPI.
• TPT: James is currently acting in these Part 8 proceedings, due for ‘Part 1’ trial in 2025, about the effect of a fetter on an amendment power in a highly complex industry-wide scheme.

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Trusts, probate and estates: contentious

James practices across a range of contentious trust and estate matters. He is involved in matters relating both to onshore and offshore structures, and  recent cases include:

• Instructed in a large Hong Kong Trusts & Probate dispute with Brian Green KC – ongoing.
• Acting in a number of applications to remove trustees and executors (including as junior to Brian Green KC in a matter relating to a substantial BVI trust).

• Acting and advising on allegedly ‘sham’ trusts in divorce proceedings.

• Acting and advising in cases relating to dispositions of trust property (including challenges to those dispositions).

• Acting in various proceedings against trustees for breach of trust.

• Acting in various proceedings against solicitors for allegedly negligent advice relating to estate and inheritance tax matters.

Download Trusts, probate and estates: contentious CV

Commercial disputes

James is recommended in Chambers & Partners and Chambers Global for Commercial Chancery work.  He has been described as “really exceptional”, “very tactical”, and “a joy to work with”.  His work ranges from straightforward contractual or tortious disputes to highly complex litigation.  The breadth and depth of his practice more generally means that he is particularly adept at commercial cases which require an understanding of ‘chancery’ points:  such as cases arising in the context of property (including lending secured on property), insolvency, or pension schemes, or cases requiring detailed understanding of structures such as partnerships, trusts, and companies.  He also has significant experience of professional negligence claims arising in a commercial context.

James thrives on working as part of a team, sometimes as junior to a silk but more often as the senior barrister instructed.  He enjoys the tactical challenge of best positioning the client for a favourable settlement, and – if an acceptable settlement cannot be reached or is not the objective – is at his happiest on his feet in Court.

Significant recent cases in the public domain include:

• The “moths” case:  acting for the purchasers of a £32.5m property successfully claiming rescission of the purchase on the basis that the vendor had fraudulently concealed an infestation of moths (Patarkatsishvili v Woodward-Fisher [2025] EWHC 265 (Ch))
• Acting for BAE Systems in Commercial Court proceedings about the terms of certain insurance policies: the claims settled on the first day of trial in 2023.
• Acting for Leading and Junior Counsel in a 23-day Commercial Court trial defending allegations of misconduct of litigation: the claims were held by the Judge to have “not the slightest merit” (King v DWF [2023] EWHC 3123 (Comm)).
• Acting unled in a 3-day High Court trial and then in a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal in a claim for restitution of allegedly ultra vires charges, raising issues as to ownership of sewers and limitation for claims in mistake: (Brendon International v Water Plus [2024] EWCA Civ 220).
• Acting unled in a 3-day High Court trial (against a silk) successfully obtaining declarations as to the construction of an option, and defending a claim for rectification (Retirement Villages Developments Ltd v Punch Partnerships (PTL) Ltd [2022] EWHC 65 (Ch)).
• Acting in very substantial litigation concerning the contract for the sale of the penthouse in the 1 Grosvenor Square development in Mayfair, concerning the applicability of the law against penalties to deposits and the extent of the doctrine of relief from forfeiture (see in part Lodha Developments 1GSQ Ltd v 1 GSQ 1 Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2356 (Ch)).
• Acting unled for Water Plus and United Utilities in a seven figure claim for restitution of allegedly ultra vires charges, which settled on the first day of a 10 day High Court trial in 2023.
• Acting unled in a 6-day High Court trial about the amounts due to the members of a partnership brokering the right to advertise on Premier League pitchside boards to a client in the PRC (McGill v Huang [2021] EWHC 938 (Ch)).
• Acting unled for a project manager and architect recovering fees from a developer on the basis of contract and quantum meruit (TC Development (South East) Ltd v Investin Quay House Ltd [2019] EWHC 3727 (TCC)).
• Acting unled in a 3-day High Court trial for a director of a company successfully resisting a claim by a bank for possession of the company’s development site.

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Professional liability

James has considerable experience of disputes involving areas of professional liability in the context of property, estates, and pensions, where he has acted for both defendants and claimants. His recent cases include:

• Acting (as junior to Joanna Smith QC) in the defence of a liquidator accused of having sold millions of pounds worth of assets belonging to third-parties (Euromex Ventures Ltd v BNP Paribas & Others [2013] EWHC 3007 (Ch)). The defence was wholly successful, and the claimants were ordered to pay indemnity costs.

• Acting (as junior to Michael Furness KC) for the defendants in a substantial professional negligence claim relating to an alleged failure validly to effect equalisation in four pension schemes.

• Acting for the claimant in multimillion-pound proceedings brought against the solicitors and investment advisers to a pension scheme for advice given regarding the scheme’s investment strategy.

• Acting (as junior to Joanna Smith QC) for the Claimant in a multimillion-pound claim against solicitors for allegedly negligent drafting and advice in relation to the overage provisions in an agreement for the purchase of a substantial London office building.

• Acting as sole counsel in a wide range of matters, including in matters relating to solicitors (for negligence in among other things conveyancing, inheritance matters, and the conduct of litigation), barristers, financial advisors, surveyors and managing agents, and architects.

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