James McKean > New Square Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

James McKean

james.mckean@newsquarechambers.co.uk View profile

Position

James specialises in disputes concerning trusts, wills, and estates, where he is described as “superb” (Legal 500, 2022). He also acts in general commercial matters.

His practice ranges from the high-value (a claim against a £118 million estate) to the bizarre (a disputed trust made primarily to benefit a tortoise).

His reported cases include:

• Lattimer v Karamanoli [2023] EWHC 1524 (Ch) (rectification and construction of will; £10 million estate)
• Chiemelu v Egemonye [2023] W.T.L.R. 17; [2023] W.T.L.R. 23; [2023] W.T.L.R. 35 (spousal 1975 Act claim)
• Fennessy v Turner [2022] WTLR 1295 (adult child 1975 Act claim)
• F v R [2022] EWCOP 49 (variation of will trust)
• Fullard v Kershaw [2022] EWHC 2189 (Ch) (costs of proceedings to remove executors)
• Eade v Hogg [2021] EWHC 1057 (Ch) (rectification of will to determine company shareholding; £6.4 million estate)
• Fellner v Cleall [2021] EWHC 3599 (Ch) (costs of proceedings to remove administrator)
• Blu-Sky Solutions Limited v Be Caring Limited [2021] EWHC 2619 (Comm) (penalty and onerous / unusual clauses in telecoms contract)
• O. Trading Ltd v Favorite Border LDA [2021] 10 WLUK 420 (unless orders; 1.2-million-euro loan dispute)
• Rochford v Rochford [2021] WTLR 951 (1975 Act claim; costs of failing to mediate)
• Carpmaels & Ransford LLP and Collyer Bristow LLP v Regen Lab SA [2021] EWHC 845 (Comm) (debt claim arising from patent litigation)
• Zauli v Lughi [2020] Lexis Citation 282 (enforcement of 2.7-million-euro Member State judgment subject to appeal under Brussels I recast)
• Re LMS [2020] EWCOP 52 (variation of will trust)
• Razaq v Baig [2019] EWHC 3490 (Ch) (right of partners to continue business of dissolved partnership)

He is instructed in on- and off-shore disputes.

James has first-class degrees in history from Lincoln College, Oxford and law from St John’s College, Cambridge. He received the two highest student scholarships awarded by Lincoln’s Inn.

Career

Called to the Bar 2017; Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Lord Bowen Scholarship, Residential Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn); Squire Scholarship, Alfred Hall Prior Scholarship, McMahon Law Studentship, Wright Prize, Jacovides Prize (St John’s College, Cambridge); Gibbs Prize, Drummond Prize, LH Martin Prize, Trapp Exhibition, Grimshaw Exhibition (Lincoln College, Oxford);

James is frequently instructed in claims involving the interpretation of, or challenges to, wills and trusts; claims against or advice for personal representatives and trustees; issues of capacity, calumny, and undue influence; Inheritance Act claims; and associated professional negligence.

James also appears in the Court of Protection on trusts and estates matters, having appeared in Re LMS [2020] EWCOP 52 and F v R [2022] EWCOP 49, both applications concerning the variation of a will to create a disabled person’s trust.

James also acts in offshore disputes, having been instructed in matters governed by the laws of Bermuda, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, where he advised the successful claimant in Mueller v Parc Aviation Services at first instance and on appeal: SUM20/0091 and 2DS 2023/01.

James is a contributor to leading textbook, Williams, Mortimer & Sunnucks – Executors, Administrators and Probate. He has written for the Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal, Today’s Wills and Probate, the New Law Journal, and the STEP Journal on trusts and estates matters. He also writes headnotes for the Wills & Trusts Law Reports.

James writes for LexisPSL as a member of the panel of experts on Dispute Resolution.

Education

Qualifications/Education

• BA Law (Senior Status), St John’s College, Cambridge (First Class)
• BA History, Lincoln College, Oxford (First Class)

Prizes

• Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Lord Bowen Scholarship, Residential Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
• Squire Scholarship, Alfred Hall Prior Scholarship, McMahon Law Studentship, Wright Prize, Jacovides Prize (St John’s College, Cambridge)
• Gibbs Prize, Drummond Prize, LH Martin Prize, Trapp Exhibition, Grimshaw Exhibition (Lincoln College, Oxford)