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We are a team of more than 600 professionals, with the depth of experience which makes us genuine experts in our fields. Together, gunnercooke’s people have strength across just about every corporate discipline and sector. We provide legal, commercial and strategic advice that delivers real value to the clients we work with, which span from multinational enterprises through to not-for-profit organisations. Our breadth of expertise covers some of the most interesting emerging disciplines such as charity, crypto, sports and competition law.
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The gunnercooke group has 16 main global offices across England, Scotland, the US, Germany and Austria, with further plans for growth in the coming years. These offices enhance the existing in-house capability of our dedicated international teams and dual-qualified experts that cover Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, China, India, Poland and Hungary. Our team have clients across 123 jurisdictions, speak 46 languages and are dual-qualified in 21 jurisdictions. Our expertise means we can offer large teams to carry out complex cross-border matters for major international clients.
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Our story
gunnercooke is a Top 70 law firm. We comprise a rapidly growing number of experts spanning legal and other disciplines. Clients benefit from flexible options on fees to suit their needs, access to a wider network of senior experts throughout the relationship, and legal advice which is complemented by an understanding of the commercial aspects of running a business.
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Partner
Financial Services Regulation & FinTech
Accolades
Expertise
James Burnie FRSA is ranked Leading Partner for FinTech Regulatory and Key Lawyer for FinTech: Corporate and Commercial in Legal 500, and Band 1 for Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies in Chambers.
In terms of Web3, James has been involved in the industry since advising on the first public cryptoasset issuance from the UK and first equity issuance settled on-chain, and he globally recognised having assisted with drafting around 3% of global crypto regulation. He takes a result-focussed and global approach that includes the quickest, cheapest and fastest route to selling into global markets.
His broader regulatory practice is wide ranging, and includes advising payments firms, funds, securities trading entities, banks, and shadow insurance providers. His clients include some of the largest global industry players, as well as start-ups with cost effective MVP and scaling.
He has an MA in Law from Cambridge University, and a specialist corporate and commercial LLM from the London School of Economics, where his specialisms included Information Technology and the Law. James has lectured and been an author with LexisNexis, and publishes on FinTech matters, including with the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law as well as being co-author of the RegTech book (Wiley), the Paytech Book (Wiley) and Crypto and Digital Assets Law and Regulation (Sweet &Maxwell).
James Advises
- FCA and PRA authorised firms.
- FinTech companies.
- Participants across the blockchain ecosystem, including token developers, cryptoasset custodians, blockchain platforms, crypto-exchanges, exchanges run using distributed leger technology, crypto-custodians, crypto-brokers and crypto-funds.
- Robo-advisors and those setting up automated advice / robo-advice solutions.
- Firms offering investments, including providing investments in an ISA wrapper.
- Funds and asset managers.
- Investment firms.
- On the acquisition of FCA and PRA authorised companies.
Experience Highlights
- Assisting various regulators on drafting cryptoassets and FinTech frameworks (including drafting around 3% of global crypto regulation).
- Supporting Bitwise Asset Management with the launch the first 100% spot SOL ETF, the number 1 ETF launch of 2025 by volume.
- Advising peaq, a layer-1 blockchain designed to power robots, machine real-world assets, and DePINs, on the launch of the first tokenized robo-farm in the world.
- Advising Xapo Bank in relation to becoming official partner to Aston Villa Football Club.
- Advising some of the largest global stablecoins on regulatory approach to different jurisdictions.
- Advising a range of crypto exchanges and new cryptoassets on entering different global markets
- Advising a range of leading DeFi players on creating new yield generating products.
Career History
Previous Law Firms
- Eversheds Sutherland, Head of Blockchain and Cryptoassets (2019 to 2020)
- Eversheds, Associate (2015 to 2019)
- Norton Rose, Trainee (2013 to 2015)
Memberships
- Editor, Frontiers in Blockchain
- Lecturer, Henley Executive Hedge Fund Spring Programme
- Member of the Convergence Alliance
Education
- Accelerated LPC, BPP London (2012)
- London School of Economics, L.L.M. (corporate and commercial), 2010-2011
- University of Cambridge (Christ’s College), M.A. (Law), 2007-2010
- Manchester Grammar School, 2000 – 2007
Other
James regularly lectures on FinTech, is co-author of both the RegTech book and the PayTech books whose authorship is crowd-sourced through a voting process and has published on blockchain with the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. James is co-author of the UK chapter in the First Edition of the Financial Technology Law Review, and co-published the first function-based cryptoasset taxonomy in peer reviewed academic journal Ledger. He has also been named a Top 50 Crypto Professional 2023 by Citywealth.
James is regularly quoted as an expert in the press, including by Ignites Europe (Financial Times), Regulatory Intelligence and Compliance Complete (Thompson Reuters), Law 360 and the New Money Review. He has given evidence to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain and Cryptoassets, is a named contributor to the UKJT legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts, and he wrote the Elliptic UK country guide for cryptoasset regulation in 2023. He regularly publishes in the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law and has a podcast.
Expertise
Back to top
James Burnie FRSA is ranked Leading Partner for FinTech Regulatory and Key Lawyer for FinTech: Corporate and Commercial in Legal 500, and Band 1 for Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies in Chambers.
In terms of Web3, James has been involved in the industry since advising on the first public cryptoasset issuance from the UK and first equity issuance settled on-chain, and he globally recognised having assisted with drafting around 3% of global crypto regulation. He takes a result-focussed and global approach that includes the quickest, cheapest and fastest route to selling into global markets.
His broader regulatory practice is wide ranging, and includes advising payments firms, funds, securities trading entities, banks, and shadow insurance providers. His clients include some of the largest global industry players, as well as start-ups with cost effective MVP and scaling.
He has an MA in Law from Cambridge University, and a specialist corporate and commercial LLM from the London School of Economics, where his specialisms included Information Technology and the Law. James has lectured and been an author with LexisNexis, and publishes on FinTech matters, including with the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law as well as being co-author of the RegTech book (Wiley), the Paytech Book (Wiley) and Crypto and Digital Assets Law and Regulation (Sweet &Maxwell).
James Advises
Back to top
- FCA and PRA authorised firms.
- FinTech companies.
- Participants across the blockchain ecosystem, including token developers, cryptoasset custodians, blockchain platforms, crypto-exchanges, exchanges run using distributed leger technology, crypto-custodians, crypto-brokers and crypto-funds.
- Robo-advisors and those setting up automated advice / robo-advice solutions.
- Firms offering investments, including providing investments in an ISA wrapper.
- Funds and asset managers.
- Investment firms.
- On the acquisition of FCA and PRA authorised companies.
Experience Highlights
Back to top
- Assisting various regulators on drafting cryptoassets and FinTech frameworks (including drafting around 3% of global crypto regulation).
- Supporting Bitwise Asset Management with the launch the first 100% spot SOL ETF, the number 1 ETF launch of 2025 by volume.
- Advising peaq, a layer-1 blockchain designed to power robots, machine real-world assets, and DePINs, on the launch of the first tokenized robo-farm in the world.
- Advising Xapo Bank in relation to becoming official partner to Aston Villa Football Club.
- Advising some of the largest global stablecoins on regulatory approach to different jurisdictions.
- Advising a range of crypto exchanges and new cryptoassets on entering different global markets
- Advising a range of leading DeFi players on creating new yield generating products.
Career History
Back to top
Previous Law Firms
- Eversheds Sutherland, Head of Blockchain and Cryptoassets (2019 to 2020)
- Eversheds, Associate (2015 to 2019)
- Norton Rose, Trainee (2013 to 2015)
Memberships
- Editor, Frontiers in Blockchain
- Lecturer, Henley Executive Hedge Fund Spring Programme
- Member of the Convergence Alliance
Education
- Accelerated LPC, BPP London (2012)
- London School of Economics, L.L.M. (corporate and commercial), 2010-2011
- University of Cambridge (Christ’s College), M.A. (Law), 2007-2010
- Manchester Grammar School, 2000 – 2007
Other
James regularly lectures on FinTech, is co-author of both the RegTech book and the PayTech books whose authorship is crowd-sourced through a voting process and has published on blockchain with the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. James is co-author of the UK chapter in the First Edition of the Financial Technology Law Review, and co-published the first function-based cryptoasset taxonomy in peer reviewed academic journal Ledger. He has also been named a Top 50 Crypto Professional 2023 by Citywealth.
James is regularly quoted as an expert in the press, including by Ignites Europe (Financial Times), Regulatory Intelligence and Compliance Complete (Thompson Reuters), Law 360 and the New Money Review. He has given evidence to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain and Cryptoassets, is a named contributor to the UKJT legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts, and he wrote the Elliptic UK country guide for cryptoasset regulation in 2023. He regularly publishes in the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law and has a podcast.
Testimonials
"I have had the pleasure of working with James, and he is truly an outstanding lawyer. His expertise in crypto related challenges is exceptional, and his deep understanding of both English law and the broader EU regulatory framework is impressive. James consistently provides insightful, forward thinking advice, making him an invaluable resource for navigating complex issues in the crypto space.”
Ania Szpak
Nexus Mutual“James and his team have standout expertise when it comes to navigating the legal and compliance complexities of Web3. James has assisted us with a variety of matters and has provided us with commercially viable and cutting-edge regulatory solutions for our product offerings.”
Joe David
Founder of Nephos Group & MYNA“James Burnie, Mark Winters and the rest of the team have advised us in our work towards submission to the UK regulators. Practical and responsive, I would recommend them highly as trusted advisers to the Web3 industry.“
Dmitry Tokarev
CEO of Copper"James and his team are, without doubt, some of the most knowledgeable and expert lawyers in the digital asset space today. What I most enjoy about working together with them is their business focus and their earnest desire to help us succeed. James has guided us through the constantly shifting waters of the evolving legal and regulatory landscape, supporting us every step of the way from nascent start-up to mature business. We continue to look to the team for advice and support as our business moves forward and adapts to the future."
Sreejith Das
Co-founder, Attestant“James Burnie and his team are, in my opinion, the leading blockchain and crypto lawyers in the UK. Their experience and ongoing consultancy into the Financial Conduct Authority's crypto asset regime as well as a shared goal for making the UK a key market for a great crypto market, makes gunnercooke the only firm that any crypto, blockchain, DLT or Web 3 firm should consider working with to achieve their goals.”
Jeff Hancock
Co-Founder and CEO at coinpass.com“James and his team at gunnercooke are extremely talented and help solve problems quick. He has provided world class service for not only me, but everyone else I introduced to him. He will always go above and beyond to help. His network is a vast resource that will help your entire business. It is a wonderful feeling when someone calls you after their intro to say how happy they are they found him. I would, and will, recommend James to every web3 company.”
Ali Datoo
Founder, web3ecosystems