James is Head of the Employment team at Kings Chambers. He undertakes work for both employers and employees. He tends to be instructed in multi-day cases around the whole of the UK (including Scotland and Northern Ireland).

James has acted for many NHS Clients nationally and has developed a reputation of excellence appearing in such cases as Fecitt v NHS Manchester (Court of Appeal) which ultimately led to groundbreaking changes in the law of Whistleblowing. He also appeared in Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust v Foster (EAT) – a significant case in the area of reasonable adjustments. NHS Clients James has acted for include: Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust, Barnsley Primary Care Trust, Central & Eastern Cheshire NHS Trust, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Kirklees Primary Care Trust, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester NHS Trust, North Lincolnshire NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust, St. Helen’s and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Wakefield District Primary Care Trust

He has also acted for many blue chip companies and public bodies including: Balfour Beatty, MBNA Bank of America, British Telecom, Burton Foods, DHL, EE Ltd, Iveco, JD Wetherspoon, Lidl, London Waste, Phones4U, Roadchef, Shop Direct, Tigi International, Unilever, Manchester City FC, Queen’s Park Rangers FC, Paul Stretford (Wayne Rooney’s agent), Yorkshire Cricket Club, Manchester University, Liverpool John Moores University, The Manchester College, Tameside College, Cheshire West County Council, Anglesey County Council, Denbighshire County Council, Salford City Council, Liverpool City Council, Sefton Borough Council, Merseyside Police Authority, Department of Health and Social Care (Isle of Man Government).

Other notable cases include:

  • Mogane v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (EAT) – consultation involving selection pools of one
  • Kocur v Royal Mail (EAT) – scope of Agency Worker Regulations 2010
  • Willoughby v C F Capital (EAT) – law relating to ‘special circumstances’
  • University Sunderland v Drossou (EAT) – pension contributions count towards week’s pay
  • Tattersall v Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust (EAT) –  identification of express/implied terms in unlawful deduction claim

Expertise

"James is a good cross examiner and knows his brief well."

Chambers UK 2024

"James is a very good cross examiner."

Chambers UK 2024

"James is good with the clients and presents the case well."

Chambers UK 2024

 

Chambers UK 2023

“James quickly develops a rapport with clients and approaches hearings in a calm, organised, reassuring and professional manner.”

“James Boyd is very cool, calm and collected and makes the incredibly complicated seem effortlessly easy.”

Legal 500 2023

‘James is an excellent advocate. He is very personable and great to work with. He has a wealth of experience and is a trusted advisor. He gets to understand what is important to the client and tackles the legal issues in the case with that in mind. Cool, calm and collected with an eye for detail.’

Chambers UK 2021

“He is very good with clients – he instils confidence in them. He is good on his feet and is always well prepared.” “He is an impressive character and invokes trust and confidence from witnesses. He is a sharp cross-examiner, who is very technical in his approach.”

Legal 500 2020

“Strengths – Very approachable and down to earth, communicates in an effective way for his audience.”

“An excellent advocate who reads the room well. ”

Chambers UK 2020

“He has a fantastic presence at tribunal and a good ability to get the judge to see the case our way. He’s great at handling the multiple issues which arise in a case and creating a good, clear argument, both orally and in his written submissions.”

Chambers UK 2019

“Personable, bright and persuasive. He has a wealth of experience to draw upon.” “He instils confidence and is easy to work with.”

Legal 500 2019

“He has a reassuring manner with witnesses.”

Chambers UK 2018

“He is exceptionally intelligent and quick-thinking.”

Legal 500 2018 

“Very personable and good on his feet.”

Chambers UK 2017

“He’s always well prepared and has an excellent manner with clients.”

Legal 500 2017

“Extremely effective in complex multi-day cases.”

Who’s Who Legal 2016

“As head of the employment team at Kings Chambers James Boyd “demonstrates considerable talent” and “deep insight” in the practice area”.

Chambers UK 2016

“He’s good with clients, his technical knowledge is brilliant and he’s calm and calculated.” “He has a versatile advocacy style, choosing whether to be firm or to take a more softly softly approach – he’s adaptable.”

  • Manchester University
  • Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
  • Georgetown University (USA)
  • Diploma in US Legal Studies
  • Indiana University (USA)
  • Master of Laws (LLM)

  • ELA

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