James Johnston

James is a Partner and Head of our Dispute Resolution team.  He specialises in contractual, construction and commercial litigation, including professional negligence.

Examples of James’ most notable work include:

• Successfully acting for the defendant in the widely-reported ownership case of Culliford v Thorpe
• Successfully settling a multi-million pound shareholder dispute involving shares in a company worth more than £8m
• Acting for two generations of a farming family in a partnership and farmland dispute worth £3m
• Professional negligence cases including acting for an engineering company against its former lawyers in a claim worth more than £1m
• Representing luxury property owners in a six-figure claim against their architect.

James is an accredited mediator with CEDR, the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, and is highly experienced in mediation as a form of alternative dispute resolution which can often bring a swift, confidential and cost-effective conclusion to even the most challenging disputes.

James studied Law at Durham University and completed his Legal Practice Certificate at the College of Law in York. He qualified as a solicitor in July 2010 with a Law degree (LLB), having completed his legal training with us here at Burnetts.

James was promoted to equity partner in 2019.