"James Willmott is a strong communicator and gives clear, pragmatic advice. He also has excellent technical knowledge that he can deploy quickly."

Legal 500

"Leads impeccably in terms of project management and negotiations."

Legal 500

“Totally dedicated to getting the best outcome for his client. Bright, hard-working and innovative - good at thinking his way through tricky problems.”

IFLR1000

“Practical and quick to respond to queries.”

IFLR1000

"Very responsive and commercial"

Legal 500 UK

About

简历

D: +44 (0)1534 822307

E: james.willmott@careyolsen.com

Laws Practised:

Jersey

Location:

Jersey

执业法律

泽西岛

办公室

泽西岛

James' practice covers a wide range of corporate activities with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, US and UK IPOs and public company advisory work and private equity transactions. He also has significant experience advising on joint ventures, restructurings (including distressed restructurings), reorganisations, start-ups and technical and regulatory matters (in particular company law and competition, insurance, banking and other financial services regulation), and has acted as an expert witness on Jersey company law.

James' clients include LSE Main Market, NYSE, AIM and TISE listed companies, global financial institutions including banks, insurance companies and brokers, European and North American private equity investors, investment managers and fintech businesses, natural resources companies and international retail groups. He also has a strong local M&A and corporate advisory practice.

James has featured in The Jersey & Guernsey Law Review 2017, having authored an article on Filing of Shareholder Agreements and external documents: Jersey Law Practice.

Career

James began his career at Allen & Overy, where he worked in London, Singapore and Bratislava. Before joining Carey Olsen in 2010 he also worked at Jones Day in Singapore and Pinsent Masons in Birmingham. He was admitted as an English solicitor in 2004 and a Jersey advocate in 2013, and became a partner at Carey Olsen in 2016. James also has experience working as in-house counsel for a UK-based power project developer.

He is an alumnus of King's College, London, Nottingham Law School and the Institute of Law, Jersey.

James is an adjunct professor of the Institute of Law, Jersey in relation to the Company Law module of the Jersey Law Course, a course of structured tuition provided by the Institute of Law leading to the qualifying examinations for advocates and solicitors in Jersey. He is also Vice-Chair of the Governing Body of Jersey College for Girls and Jersey College Prep.

Advises on

业务领域

Relevant experience

His recent experience includes advising on:

the £2.27 billion sale by EG Group of the majority of its UK and Ireland fuel, foodservice, grocery and merchandise business to supermarket chain Asda;
a number of public takeovers on the UK markets, acting for both bidders and targets,
the recapitalisation of Flint Group, one of the largest global suppliers to the printing and packaging industry, by a consortium of investors led by Alcentra, Baring Asset Management, CVC Credit and KKR Credit;

the comprehensive debt restructuring of European cinema operator Vue International group; and
the two most significant pan-Channel Island M&A transactions in 2023 involving locally-headquartered retail businesses, as lead counsel.

Awards and accolades

奖项和荣誉

James is rated as a 'Leading Lawyer - Highly Regarded' in IFLR1000 and a 'Next Generation Partner' by Legal 500, and is ranked by Chambers UK. He was recently named as one of Jersey's Top 10 Most Influential Offshore Corporate and Finance Lawyers for 2023 by Business Today.