

Brisbane
James has experience in negotiating and drafting contracts for a broad range of infrastructure and construction related projects, goods, and services across the following industries: residential building (houses / apartments); commercial building (offices / retail); industrial building (factories / warehouses); public and social infrastructure (hospitals / schools / universities); civil infrastructure (transport / water); and energy and resources (wind / solar / battery).
His commercial experience includes advising on procurement and contracting strategies, tendering, professional liability, regulatory compliance, and risk management in a very clear, practical, and accessible manner. James also takes a keen interest in understanding his clients’ businesses and commercial drivers to provide clear, sharp, and tailored contract administration advice during the project delivery phase.
James also has experience in assisting clients if a dispute arises and has been involved in resolving significant construction disputes in several court jurisdictions and through arbitration and expert determination. His experience extends to administrative reviews, making and defending adjudication applications made under the security of payment legislation, claims in respect to subcontractors’ charges and insolvency issues.
Prior to joining Talbot Sayer, James worked in Brisbane’s leading construction practices – including the most recent six years at MinterEllison (ranked Chambers Band 1 in Construction and Australia’s largest law firm). James also has significant in-house experience through a number of secondments, including to Australia’s largest tier 1 contractors to advise on major infrastructure litigation, and to Health Infrastructure Queensland to advise on the $10bn Capital Expansion Program.
Capabilities
Admissions
- Admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland
- Admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Australia
Qualifications
- Master of Business, Queensland University of Technology
- Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Queensland University of Technology
- Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, College of Law