James is a partner within our Construction and Projects team specialising in construction, engineering and PPP/PFI projects. James acts for both the public and private sector on a number of high value capital projects, across a range of sectors including Education, Waste, Roads and Healthcare.

James is also part of the renewable energy group at Burness Paull with a particular focus on biomass, energy from waste, municipal waste management projects and on-shore wind. He specialises in EPC contracting and all construction and specialised contracts such as Balance of Plant and Turbine Supply Agreements.

James is dual qualified in Scots and English law and has an LLM in Construction Law. He is accredited by The Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in Construction Law. James is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Notary Public.

It is the in-depth knowledge of the project that James Forbes as partner brings to our project. He is supported by other lawyers each having significant time spent on the project. For us the depth of knowledge of our business is key.

Chambers UK, 2025

James Forbes knows what he is doing with no fuss or drama.

Legal 500, 2025

James is excellent to work with: strong commercially, and a polished operator with great subtlety in his approach. He is very much focused on moving the deal forward in a determined and unflappable manner in order to secure a great result.

Chambers & Partners, 2024

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