James Anderson

Mr. Anderson is highly experienced in private capital arrangements, with a particular focus on the establishment and ongoing operations of asset management structures; investments in liquid markets, infrastructure, crypto, real estate and credit; and compensation for private capital principals.

He also regularly counsels on the full range of public capital markets transactions, including IPOs, SPACs and structured debt offerings. He has also advised various govern­ments on new corporate and tax laws. Recently, his practice has focused on new intersec­tions between private capital and technology, particularly in high-frequency, algorithmic and augmented intelligence trading sectors, as well as handling corporate groups’ planning in response to Pillar II.

Mr. Anderson has been ranked for over a decade in the first tier for tax, by Chambers UK, Chambers Europe and Chambers Global, which also lists Skadden’s Tax Group in Band 1 of its Global Tax rankings. In Chambers UK’s 2025 edition, clients remarked that he is “the best in the market” and that “he is creative, hard-working, very experienced and always available - the whole package.” In addition, The Legal 500 ranks Mr. Anderson in its Hall of Fame, with clients noting he is “second to none. His technical ability goes without saying, pragmatic, commercial, responsive, brings together overseas Skadden partners and peer groups which is invaluable, and genuinely cares. Couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

The Legal 500 has also ranked Mr. Anderson as one of its leading 250 international tax advisers worldwide and a leading individual amongst its top 40 U.K. corporate tax advisers, with client feedback noting he is “extremely smart and solutions-oriented” with “expert knowledge of tax law which he applies with wit and charm.”

Additionally, Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) has called him an “internationally renowned star” with a “world class” practice, and repeatedly includes him within its annual Thought Leaders list for Corporate Tax. He has also been repeatedly ranked as Highly Regarded in the Tax Controversy category of ITR World Tax. In addition, Mr. Anderson is currently recognised by Legal Experts, PLC Cross-Border Tax on Transactions Handbook, Tax Directors Handbook, Lawdragon Insights: Private Funds, Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in the UK in its Tax Law and Investment Funds Law categories. Mr. Anderson is also listed as a leader in International Tax Review’s Tax Controversy Leaders Guide and named in Euromoney/Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides’ Guide to the Worlds’ Leading Tax Lawyers and Turnarounds & Workouts’ Bankruptcy Tax Specialists in the Nation’s Major Law Firms list. In 2025, Mr. Anderson was appointed to International Tax Review’s inaugural editorial board.

Under his leadership, Skadden’s European tax practice was named Best International Tax Team of the Year at the 2023 Tolley’s Taxation Awards, as well as previously as Transatlantic Tax Team of the Year by The American Lawyer and Legal Week at the Transatlantic Legal Awards. The firm has repeatedly been ranked as the Best Law Firm for Tax Law by Vault’s law firm rankings and named Tax Group of the Year by Law360. In addition, the European tax practice has also received multiple Impact Deals of the Year at the ITR European Awards.

Mr. Anderson frequently presents at seminars on the taxation of space and has been quoted in several publications on this growing area of law. In 2020, Mr. Anderson was one of 10 legal practitioners featured in “Innovative Lawyers: Europe,” a report published by the Financial Times that highlighted his work in this area. In 2019, he chaired the Space Taxation seminar at the IFA Global Congress in London.

Mr. Anderson is a member of the International Bar Association and the International Fiscal Association (IFA) British Branch committee. He also is a member of the HMRC/HMT Consultation Group for the U.K. fund management industry and vice chair of the Tax Committee for the Alternative Investment Management Association, lobbying for good practice in the taxation of U.K. and cross-border asset manage­ment activities. In addition, he serves as a member of the HMRC Transfer Pricing Forum and various other stakeholder committees.

In 2025, Mr. Anderson was named by the Lady Chief Justice to the Pro Bono Recognition List for England & Wales for his commit­ment to pro bono work, both at the firm and in the community. He assisted in the establishment of a bridge fund for Shell Foundation in relation to mobility and access to renewable energy in Africa and Asia, worked with the Global Fund to End Slavery for the Walk Free organization and helped structure Create Streets, a charity dedicated to neighbourhood planning and alleviating housing shortages in the U.K. He has also advised Shivia, an organisation that aims to empower indigent families in India by creating livelihoods, Women@TheTable initiative sponsored by the United Nations, and ElectHer, an organization dedicated to promoting greater represen­tation of women in the political class. Additionally, Mr. Anderson supervises Skadden London’s JUST Programme, which provides an entry point for undergraduate students who want to pursue a legal career in social justice. He also assists the PRIME Programme with workshops for underprivileged local students.

His transaction highlights include representing:

• Nasdaq in the sale of its subsidiary Simplitium Limited to Verisk Inc.
• B-Flexion Fund Management Limited and Kedge Capital Fund Management Limited in the $425 million sale of a portfolio of secondary interests to a prominent financial sponsor
• V Sports S.C.S., the holding company of the Aston Villa Football Club Limited, in the tax aspects of its investment in V Sports by Atairos Management, L.P.
• SDCL Edge Acquisition Corporation (SEDA), a NYSE-listed special purpose acquisition company, in the tax aspects of its $736 million business combination with Cunova GmbH
• a quantitative trading firm with regard to tax structuring advice, which led to the establishment of a U.K. limited liability partner-ship as the primary operating entity for the firm in the U.K.
• SDC Capital Partners LLC in connection with various investments of SDC portfolio companies into data centre or data centre-related projects in Germany and other European countries
• Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners, an international commodity trading company, in the tax aspects related to its acquisition of Trailstone LLC from Riverstone Holdings LLC
• Neuberger Berman Group LLC in the business combination, reported at $12.5 billion, of Owl Rock Capital Group and the Dyal Capital Partners division of Neuberger Berman to form Blue Owl Capital
• Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) in the tax aspects of its $975 million business combination with FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV, a special purpose acquisition company, pursuant to which PWP will become a Nasdaq-listed public company with an Up-C structure
• Jane Street Group LLC in connection with its U.K. and U.S. structure
• Kismet Acquisition One, a special purpose acquisition company, in the tax aspects of its $1.9 billion initial merger with Nexters Global Limited, the first-ever de-SPAC transaction involving a Russian company. As a result of the merger, Nexters will become a publicly traded company
• Citi in its platform fund formation and manager relationships
• Pret A Manger Ltd, a portfolio company of JAB Holding Company LLC, in its acquisition of EAT Limited
• BlackRock, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of MGPA, an independently managed private equity real estate investment advisory company in Asia-Pacific and Europe. This transaction was named Global Deal of the Year by PERE Magazine
• BTG Pactual in its acquisition of Ariel Reinsurance, a Bermuda-based property and casualty reinsurance company
• Legg Mason, Inc. in its acquisition of Fauchier Partners LLP, a manager of funds of hedge funds, from BNP Paribas Investment Partners
• GSA Capital in its spin-out of XTX Markets
• BlackRock in connection with its acquisition of Credit Suisse’s ETF division
• Trailstone LLC in its formation out of Deutsche Bank AG to establish a global energy and commodities investment and trading platform
• Barclays Bank in a spin-out of an equity trading desks to a separate fund platform in Bermuda, New York and London
• Highbridge Principal Strategies in its European credit operations
• WeWork on its SEC IPO documentation and structure
• Nasdaq in its £2.7 billion proposed acquisition of the London Stock Exchange plc
• BTG Pactual in its acquisition of BSI, the Swiss-based private banking group owned by Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., for CHF1.5 billion
• Dermalogica Inc in its sale to Unilever
• C12 Management in the spin-out by Barclays Bank of $12.3 billion in credit market assets into a separate fund platform (Protium)
• Och-Ziff (Sculptor) in its SEC-registered IPO on the New York Stock Exchange
• a U.S.-based algorithmic trading business in the establishment of a U.K. disaster recovery site

Mr. Anderson handles a wide range of tax controversy matters and has worked on enquiries by the U.K. revenue authorities, tax court cases, disclosure programmes, transfer pricing disputes, APAs and MAPs, as well as various settlement negotiations. He also has experience in complex cross-border inter partes tax disputes.