Melanie James
Melanie James is a partner in Corporate & Financial Services Department and a member of Willkie’s Insurance Transactional and Regulatory Practice Group.
Melanie is an insurance sector leader with over 20 years' experience handling (re)insurance transactional, commercial and regulatory matters, gained both in-house and in private practice. She uniquely combines her experience across these disciplines to provide her clients with exceptional and very well-informed advice. Melanie advises on all aspects of non-contentious insurance transactions including domestic and cross-border M&A (both buy and sell side), joint ventures, reorganizations (including SE and cross-border mergers), portfolio transfers and complex reinsurance transactions, international distribution arrangements as well as structuring, formation and licensing of (re)insurance platforms and PRA, FCA and Lloyd's regulation.
Melanie was recognised in The Lawyer's prestigious “Hot 100” list for 2020, was also shortlisted for “Insurance Leader of the year” at the Women in Finance Awards 2019 and featured as a UK Rising Star for M&A by Legal Week in 2016.
Melanie is ranked in Chambers UK (2024) for Non-Contentious Insurance and recognised as a leading individual by The Legal 500 UK (2024) for Insurance: Corporate and Regulatory, with clients describing her as "outstanding in that she combines commercial sense, transaction related experience and regulatory know-how while also recognising different cultural approaches when dealing on international transactions."