General Litigation

He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1989. Senior Counsel (Ireland) 2017.

He is an experienced litigator in general practice in the Irish Courts since 1992 and has a special interest in commercial and technology law including intellectual property, internet and construction law, European and International law, International Arbitration, ADR and other forms of dispute resolution.

He was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple) in 2010 and has since held a practicing certificate for England and Wales and is a full tenant at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, London.

He is presently (March 2019) representing the Irish State and commercial parties in contentious and advisory matters. His live present caseload as of February 2019 includes matters presently before the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Superior Courts of Ireland in Chancery, Common Law and Commercial, arbitration, construction adjudication (building and M&E), international arbitration and mediation. The issues in dispute include construction, intellectual property (performers rights, copyright and internet domain names), construction (building and M&E), the status of International Treaties in European Law, European Law (transposition of EU Directive), and personal injuries, and advisory counsel on commercial contracts/technology transfer/R&D.

Intellectual Property

Prior to commencing practice as a self employed barrister he was and associate lawyer in Cruickshank & Co. Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys engaged in the prosecution of applications for patents, trademarks and registered designs, drafting and advising on technology transfer agreements and licensing and assignment of intellectual property licensing. He qualified as a Registered Trade Marks Agent in 1992.

He is regularly instructed in both contentious and advisory matters involving patents, copyright, trade marks, registered designs and Internet domain names. His clients include Irish government departments from whom he has received instructions in patent, copyright and trademark matters through the Office of the Attorney General.

He has been appointed administrative panellist (WIPO, Geneva), expert (Nominet UK) and arbitrator (National Arbitration Forum (USA) to determine over 200 disputes on ownership of Internet domain names since 2001.

He has written numerous articles on intellectual property law including most recently Adjudicating Intellectual Property Disputes, An ICC Report on Specialised IP Jurisdictions Worldwide (2016)

He lectures on the Law of Evidence on the TCD Diploma in Construction Law and Contract Administration and

Sometime member of  the Irish committees of both the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (A.I.P.P.I.) and the Licensing Executive Society.

EU Law

He maintains an active interest in EU law, earning a Diploma in European Law at University College Dublin.  

In 2010 he was appointed to the Group of Experts invited to advise the EU Commission on the revision of the Brussels 1 Regulation and arbitration. (http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=2467

He is currently representing the Irish State in a matter relating to performers rights before the CJEU.

He recently presented a lecture on The status of the CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, a free-trade agreement between Canada, the European Union and its member states) at the CIArb North America Branch Conference on Investor State Dispute Settlement in Washington DC on 13 September 2018.

Arbitration and Adjudication

He is a Chartered Arbitrator and has acted as tribunal member, arbitrator, both as chair and sole panellist in over 300 arbitrations, tribunals and administrative proceedings. He is regularly appointed as a tribunal member for UDRP cases by WIPO, NAF, Nominet UK and has also been appointed to determine internet domain name disputes by Kuala Lumpur Centre for Dispute Resolution and the Czech Arbitration Court (.EU disputes) and the International Chamber of Commerce (new gTLDs).

He has been appointed as an arbitrator/neutral by party selection and by institutions including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Geneva), the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-Irish Branch (Dublin), the National Arbitration Forum (USA), Nominet UK (Oxford, UK).

On 7 November 2014 he was appointed by the Council of the European Union as a member of the panel of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea (Council Decision 2014/794/EU) (accessible at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014D0794&qid=1552732427271&from=EN)

James Bridgeman has received recognition both in international dispute resolution and in his country of residence. He was elected and served as world President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for 2018. The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is the premier international arbitration membership organisation with 16,000 members organised across the globe in 40 branches.

He has been appointed as a member of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) panels of arbitrators and conciliators, designated by the Government of Ireland. (https://icsid.worldbank.org/apps/ICSIDWEB/about/Pages/Panels-of-Arbitrators-and-Conciliators.aspx)

In 2010 he was appointed to the Group of Experts invited to advise the EU Commission on the revision of the Brussels 1 Regulation and arbitration. (http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=2467 )

In August 2014 following a series of competitive interviews he was appointed by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland as a member of the quasi-judicial panel to carry out investigations of regulated entities under the Administrative Sanctions Procedure under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942

His expertise was recently endorsed by his appointment on 7 November 2014 by the Council of the European Union as a member of the panel of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea (Council Decision 2014/794/EU) (accessible at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html)

Construction Adjudication

He holds a Diploma in Construction Law and Contract Administration by University of Dublin and was awarded the Bunni Medal in the course. He was subsequently appointed as and continues to be a member of the Faculty of the course.

He has been appointed to the panel of construction adjudicators by the Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation ( Official Journal of the Irish Government 22 January 2016 http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/IR220116.pdf).

In 2018 and 2019 he has concluded four construction adjudications including one matter for a € seven-figure claimed sum and counterclaims.

Mediation

He is an accredited mediator (MII) and has been appointed mediator in intellectual property, commercial, contract, partnership, workplace and family disputes by appointment of parties and by appointment of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Geneva).

He is a past Vice-Chairman of the Mediators Institute of Ireland and is a member of the ADR Committee of the Bar Council of England & Wales and has been listed in The International Who's Who of Commercial Mediation 2013- 2015 as being among the world's leading commercial mediators. ( http://whoswholegal.com/profiles/47092/0/bridgeman/james-bridgeman/)

He is a member of the mediator panel on the Business and Commercial Mediation Pilot Scheme established by the Courts Service of Ireland and Chambers Ireland in 2015.

President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2018

During his presidency of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2018, he chose the theme Quality Assurance and Ethics in International Arbitration on which he presented lectures in Tbilisi, Kuala Lumpur and Dublin. The theme was adopted widely throughout the CIArb at conferences inter alia in Abuja, Tbilisi, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon and London.

Membership of Arbitration/ADR/ Adjudicative Panels

He is a member of the following dispute resolution panels of arbitrators and mediators:

International Panels

• Panels of Conciliators and Arbitrators ICSID (nominated by the Government of Ireland)

• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Panel of Chartered Arbitrators

• World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva (Panel of Mediators/Arbitrators)

• National Arbitration Forum, USA.( Internet Domain Name Dispute Panel)

• Nominet UK, United Kingdom( Internet Domain Name Dispute Panel)

• ADNDRC Hong Kong/ China ( Internet Domain Name Dispute Panel)

• World Intellectual Property Organisation Center for Arbitration of Intellectual Property Disputes. Geneva. ( Internet Domain Name Dispute Panel)

• On 7 November 2014 he was appointed by the Council of the European Union as a member of the panel of 15 arbitrators for the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea (Council Decision 2014/794/EU) (accessible at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html)

Irish Panels

• Courts Service of Ireland and Chambers Ireland Business and Commercial Mediation Pilot Scheme (mediator panel)

• Mental Health Commission, Ireland (Mental Health Tribunal Panel)

• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Irish Branch) Panel of Conciliators for Government Contracts

• Member of the Property Services Appeal Board, appointed by the Minister for Justice (Ireland)

• In August 2014 following a series of competitive interviews he was appointed by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland as a member of the quasi-judicial panel to carry out investigations of regulated entities under the Administrative Sanctions Procedure under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act 1942.

• In January 2016 following a competitive assessment involving a short-listing and interview, he was appointed as a member of the panel of adjudicators appointed by the Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation ( Official Journal of the Irish Government 22 January 2016 http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/IR220116.pdf)

James Bridgeman SC, served as world President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2018. Prior to which he was Deputy President in 2017 and a Trustee from 2012- 2016  elected for the Ireland region by the membership of the Irish Branch of the institute. (http://www.ciarb.org/about/whos-who/board-of-trustees)

Prior to his election as Trustee served as Chairman of the CIArb Irish Branch and as a member of the Irish Branch Committee for 20 years.

He regularly participates in mediation and arbitration and international arbitration training and assessment courses for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in Ireland and the United Kingdom as course director, tutor, moderator and examiner. He is a member of the Technology Sub-Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

He is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Arbitration. He served for a number of years on the Irish National Committee of the ICC. He is a member of the ICC Task Force on Revision of ICC Rules and the ICC Task Force on Arbitration involving State Entities, the ICC Task Force on the New York Convention 1958, the ICC Task Force on Arbitration of Competition Law, the ICC Working Group on the Arbitration of Intellectual Property Disputes.

He was formerly a Vice-Chairman of the Mediators Institute of Ireland.

He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution sub-committee of the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Alternative Dispute Resolution sub-committee of the Bar Council of Ireland.

He is a Freeman of the Arbitrators Company (London) and a Freeman of the City of London.

He is the convenor of the Dublin University Construction Law Alumni and the editor of the ADR and Arbitration Review (Dublin).

He is actively engaged in academic teaching at third level. For many years he lectured in media law and technology law at graduate and post-graduate level at ITT Dublin. He is a member of the teaching faculty on the Diploma in Construction Law and Contract Administration (Trinity College Dublin), a lecturer on the Law Society of Ireland Diploma in Arbitration, he annually provides guest lectures in the Diploma in Arbitration (University College Dublin).

Publications

Adjudicating Intellectual Property Disputes, An ICC Report on Specialised IP Jurisdictions Worldwide (2016) co-author. International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Intellectual Property

The UNCITRAL Transparency Rules 2014 for Investor State Dispute Settlement and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations ADR and Arbitration Journal November 2015

Contributor to the IBA e-book : Promotiong Further Mediation. (International Bar Association 2015)

Chapter V in Arbitration of International Intellectual Property Disputes Thomas Halkett ed. Juris Publishing Inc. New York. May 2012 (ISBN:978-1-933833-67-5);

Arbitration or the Commercial Court? End Game Resolution of Intellectual Property Disputes in Ireland. ARBITRATION Vol 76. No. 4 (2010) 626 ;

The Arbitrability of Competition Law Disputes 19 European Business Law Review 147-174 (2008);

.ie chapter in Domain Name Law and Practice Torsten Bettinger ed. Oxford University Press 2005 [ISBN-10: 0199278253, ISBN-13: 978-0199278251] (eds 1 and 2).

Moral Rights and the Copyright Bill 1999. Irish Business Law.

International Arbitration of Intellectual Property Disputes: Patent Agents, Registered Trade Mark Agents and the Arbitration (Commercial International) Act, 1998. Irish Intellectual Property Review. September 1998.

Registrability of Trade Marks and Service Marks in Ireland - The Trade Marks Bill 1995. The Commercial Law Practitioner. March 1996.

The Video Recordings Act 1989 - BlueMovies, Red Tape, White Noise. The Commercial Law Practitioner November 1995

Arbitration of Intellectual Property Disputes - The Arbitrability Question. Irish Law Times May 1993.

Various book reviews, casenotes and news reports for the European Intellectual Property Review, the Irish Intellectual Property Review and the International Arbitration Review.

Contributor to Final Report on Intellectual Property Disputes and Arbitration. The ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin Vol 9/ No 1 – May 1998.

Sometime editor of the ADR and Arbitration Journal.

Conference Presentations

CIArb Practitioners’ Workshop on Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas in Arbitration .Georgian International Arbitration Centre. Tbilisi 5 October 2018

The status of the CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, a free-trade agreement between Canada, the European Union and its member states) CIArb North America Branch Conference on Investor State Dispute Settlement in Washington DC on 13 September 2018.

Quality Assurance and Ethics in Arbitration and ADR- The Role of the Institutions Panel Chair: Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Midsummer Conference. Dublin 29 June 2018

Private Dispute Resolution in the modern age- a Celtic Perspective. CIArb Scottish Branch Annual Lecture. Edinburgh 11 May 2018

Keynote Speech: Ethics and Quality Assurance in International Arbitration. Presidential Lecture. CIArb Malaysia Branch. Kuala Lumpur 20 April 2018

TTIP and the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules 2014. Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Centenary Conference Dublin 10 October 2015

How to improve the use of mediation in both civil law and common law countries. IBA Vienna 7 October 2015

MedArb – An Epiphany, panel presentation in Conference on Conflict Resolution: Peace, Practice, Perspective, Celebrating Women as ADR Leaders on International Womens Day. 8 March 2013. Dublin.

Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration under the UNCITRAL Model Law and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, Istanbul, Turkey 6 January 2012, Prague 23 October 2009 and Dublin May 2011;

ADR and the Courts, CIArb Conference on Debt Mediation, Dublin June 2011

Arbitration and the Revision of the Brussels 1 Judgment Regulation. Ordre des Avocats de Paris and CIArb European Branch Conference. Paris 9 June 2011

New WIPO Rules on Film and Media Disputes. Dublin Forum on Arbitration of IP Disputes June, 2010

International Arbitration of IP Disputes. London November 23, 2007

Expert Determination and Arbitration of Shareholders Disputes CLT Shareholders  Conference. Dublin. November 2007

The Future of Intellectual Property Disputes. Chartered Institute of Arbitrators International Conference, Dublin 4-5 November 2007

Arbitration of Boundary Disputes. Society of Chartered Surveyors Dublin 17 May 2007

Arbitration of Competition Law Issues. Annual Conference Competition Dublin. September 2006.

The .EU Dispute Resolution Process. Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Conference: Transatlantic Perspectives on ADR. London. July 2006

Alternative Dispute Resolution – A Solution for Future IPR Conflicts? ECTA. 24th Annual Conference. 8-11 June 2005 London

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Disputes. AIPPI Seminar Dublin December 2005

Mediation of Boundary Disputes. Irish Institute of Surveyors, DIT Bolton StreetDecember 2005

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Disputes. CIPA/ITMA  Seminar London November 2005.