James Clanchy, FCIArb, is a full-time arbitrator with a background as a shipping lawyer in London and Paris.
He qualified as a solicitor in 1990 with Withers and spent four years in the firm’s Paris office. He was admitted to the Paris bar in 1994. On returning to London, he joined Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) where he remained until 2008. He was a member of HFW’s Trade & Energy Group.

James was appointed Registrar and Deputy Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in 2008. He oversaw the administration of more than a thousand commercial arbitrations, including many shipping and commodities cases.

For two years (2012-2014), James was Senior Legal Advisor at Thomas Miller Legal, which offered claims assessment and management services to After The Event (ATE) insurers and litigation funders, including in commercial and investment arbitrations.

James trained as an arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), becoming a Fellow in 2015. He spent a year in an interim role in the international arbitration group of Stephenson Harwood. Between 2016 and 2022 he worked part-time for LexisNexis UK on its arbitration practical guidance service. He joined Six Pump Court chambers as an associate member in 2019. Between September 2021 and September 2022 he served as Honorary Secretary of the LMAA. He became co-editor (arbitration) of Lloyd’s Maritime Law Newsletter in July 2022.

His practice includes maritime, commodities and general commercial disputes, both ad hoc and under institutional rules such as LCIA and SIAC. He readily accepts appointments under the LMAA Small Claims Procedure. He has written a chapter on the SCP for Expedited International Arbitration (Wolters Kluwer, 2024).