James Hannon

William Sturges is a Westminster-based London law firm whose litigation and dispute resolution practice, led by senior partner and head of litigation James Hannon, has been named Litigation Law Firm of the Year in England at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025. The recognition reflects the firm's reputation for handling sophisticated, often high-profile commercial disputes with a strategic, commercially minded approach.

James Hannon has led the firm's litigation and dispute resolution team as head of department since 2013 and serves as senior partner. He joined William Sturges in 2000, following the firm's merger with Chethams, and became a partner in 2004, having been admitted as a solicitor in 2002. Over that time he has built a practice centred on high-value commercial litigation and arbitration, with extensive experience representing clients before the senior courts, including the Supreme Court, the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal.

Hannon is known for a pragmatic, business-oriented strategy that keeps the focus on practical outcomes for clients rather than litigation for its own sake. His work spans a notably diverse range of sectors, including hospitality, property, motorsport, professional football and politics, reflecting both the breadth of the firm's client base and his ability to get to grips quickly with the commercial realities of very different industries. He is a member of the Property Litigation Association and the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association, and a Freeman of the City of London.

The firm's litigation and dispute resolution practice handles complex and high-profile commercial disputes that call for careful strategy and sound commercial judgment. William Sturges positions itself as a trusted adviser that combines dispute-resolution expertise with an understanding of clients' wider business objectives, guiding them through litigation, arbitration and negotiated settlement as circumstances require. This emphasis on strategy and practical resolution is central to how the team approaches contentious matters, whether the aim is to defend a position robustly or to reach a commercially sensible outcome efficiently.

Litigation of this kind demands not only technical mastery of procedure and substantive law but also the judgment to know when to press a case and when to settle, and the ability to manage risk and cost for the client throughout. Under James Hannon's leadership, William Sturges brings that blend of forensic skill and commercial pragmatism to disputes across a wide spread of sectors. The Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025 recognition as Litigation Law Firm of the Year in England affirms the standing of the firm and its head of litigation in the field of commercial dispute resolution.