James is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong. He is currently working on a project relating to electronic arbitral awards and its potential implementation in Hong Kong led by Professor Julien Chaisse.

As a qualified advocate in Indonesia and a solicitor of England and Wales, James has professional experience across both civil law and common law jurisdictions. Prior to entering academia, James practised in Singapore with a Magic Circle law firm, where he worked on commercial arbitration and investor–State arbitration matters, and in Jakarta with one of Indonesia’s fastest-growing law firms. He was also a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore, where his research focused on international trade and investment law and policy.

James has taught at several universities in Asia and Europe and publishes actively in international peer-reviewed journals. He has advised government officials in the region on international investment law and previously served at the Office of the Special Staff for International Relations to the President of Indonesia.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws (S.H.) from Universitas Pelita Harapan, an LL.M. from the IELPO Programme, Universidad de Barcelona, and a PhD from the City University of Hong Kong.