James Hardy trained as a Chartered Certified Accountant in the forensic accounting department of a leading UK accountancy firm, where he gained experience as part of a multi-billion-dollar Russian civil litigation, and on secondment to the Serious Fraud Office where he was a key member of the large, public-interest LIBOR and EURIBOR benchmark manipulation fraud investigations, from their inception, through three major trials and until the successful convictions of eight individuals.

He later joined the Financial Conduct Authority in 2018 where he project-managed criminal and regulatory investigations into insider-dealing, delayed disclosure, misleading statements, market manipulation, and other market abuse offences as part of the Wholesale Financial Markets Enforcement Team, followed by experience in the forensic accounting team of the loss adjusters Charles Taylor where he calculated quantum in business interruption claims.

James joined Milsted Langdon in June 2023 where he specialises in forensic accountancy and expert witness instructions including calculating quantum for damages as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

James regularly attends technical conferences and lectures to the legal profession on a range of accountancy related topics. He also writes regularly on forensic accountancy matters and has been published in the Financial Remedies Journal.

His experience spans numerous large and complex cases, including:

• A large number of compensation claims for former sub-postmasters of the Post Office as part of the Horizon computer system scandal.
• Calculation of loss of profits stemming from a ransomware cyber-attack on a top-20 global beer brewery.
• A large, public-interest LIBOR and EURIBOR benchmark manipulation fraud investigations at the Serious Fraud Office, from their inception, through 3 major trials and until the successful convictions of 8 individuals.
• Asset-tracing and providing expert evidence in a private litigation during the so-called ‘aluminium wars’ – a battle for control over the former Russian state-owned industry.
• Quantifying damages stemming from a breach of contract in a Private Finance Initiative (“PFI”) contract.

James is a Fellow and member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.