James Mee
Partner
James Mee is an award-winning transactional lawyer who has been instrumental in driving RPC's transactions business since joining from a magic circle firm in 2004.
Awarded a Corporate Team of the Year accolade from the Lawyer in 2012 for a multi-billion pound sector transformational consumer products transaction, he has been shortlisted for deal awards in each of 2017, 2019 and 2021. He is a leading individual / recognised in all of the major legal directories for transactional work and sector knowledge and is an Acritas Star following recommendations by clients.
Following on from the 2012 deal and award, James established and then led RPC's transactional insurance sector business. This has gone from strength to strength and is now widely regarded as one of the City's leading legal practices in this highly dynamic sector.
In addition to being an active deal do-er in the insurance and wider financial services sectors (leading more than 20 transactions in each of 2020 and 2021), James acts for corporates, private equity and other investors and management teams in a range of sectors, including in recent years the retail and consumer products, tech and data, and sports and leisure sectors.
Aligned to his role at RPC, James is a commentator on transactional and market issues, a panellist at industry events and roundtables, and was one of the two external lawyers asked to assist the London Market Group's Brexit Working Party.
James previously sat on the Board of RPC Tyche, the insurance software business RPC recently sold to global professional services firm Aon.
James was selected for The Lawyer's Hot 100 in 2014 for his transactional work and his focus on driving inclusion and diversity change for the better in the legal industry.
From 2017 to 2020, James was Co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Insurance Network (Link), that won a Queen's Award in the The Queen's 2019 Birthday Honours.
James is currently Chair of the Board of Governors at the English National Ballet School.
Interviews
The Insurer: M&A muted but open for the right buyer and target
Speaking with The Insurer TV as part of its #ReinsuranceMonth series, James explains there has been a mismatch in pricing expectations between buyers and targets, putting a lid on reinsurance M&A activity.
Directory quotes
"James is a high-quality lawyer who is particularly good at commercial aspects and supporting board interactions as part of the transaction process." - Chambers UK 2024
"James Mee is an experienced insurance practitioner who specialises in non-contentious mandates. He comes recommended for his adept handling of a wide range of corporate transactions as well as advising on related regulatory issues." - Chambers UK 2023
Ranked – Chambers UK 2022
"James Mee receives regular mandates to serve as counsel to clients on complicated M&A deals. He represents corporates and private equity funds, and is known for his insurance industry specialism. James is an outstanding commercial lawyer on every level. He has the necessary balance of industry expertise and commercial approach." - Chambers UK 2022
"James Mee is an experienced insurance practitioner who specialises in non-contentious mandates. He is recommended for his adept handling of a wide range of corporate transactions as well as advising on related regulatory issues. James goes out of his way to assist and he is well connected. He is a great lawyer and just fantastic with clients." - Chambers UK 2022
Recommended. - The Legal 500 UK 2022
James Mee is recommended for his adept handling of a wide range of corporate transactions as well as advising on related regulatory issues. - Chambers UK 2021
"James is a good operator who is easy to work with, well organised and knows the market very well." - Chambers UK 2021
"He is a calm, responsive and knowledgeable lawyer." - Chambers UK 2021
Recommended. - The Legal 500 UK 2021
"James Mee also specialises in insurance work, with extensive knowledge of the industry in both advisory and transactional matters." - The Legal 500 UK 2021
Leading individual. - The Legal 500 UK 2021
"Real standout." - The Legal 500 UK 2020
Leading individual.- The Legal 500 UK 2020
"James Mee is a strong leader for the practice. He is extremely diligent but always able to step back and look at the bigger picture. He has fantastic insight into the re/insurance world." - The Legal 500 UK 2020
James Mee is described as "a good, strong, technical lawyer who really knows his stuff." His well-regarded practice covers an array of transactional insurance matters, including Lloyd's market and private equity transactions. - Chambers UK 2019
James Mee maintains an active transactional practice in the insurance and financial services fields. - Chambers UK 2019
He "understands us and is willing to help us along." - Chambers UK 2019
"Very capable and bright" practice head James Mee is "a pleasure to deal with." - The Legal 500 UK 2018
James Mee heads the firm's corporate insurance and financial services practice. He is experienced in handling an array of insurance transactions, often acting for Lloyd's market syndicates, as well as intermediaries and investment entities. - Chambers UK 2018
[James is praised for his] "strong connections and extensive expertise in high-end, complex transactions." - Chambers UK 2018
Practice head James Mee has notable expertise in private equity transactions. - The Legal 500 UK 2017
Ranked as leader in the field. - Chambers UK 2017
Clients describe him as a "very commercial and very hard-working" practitioner. - Chambers UK 2017
He is easy to deal with, knows a lot of law and represents his clients well and fairly. - Chambers UK 2016
"good technical knowledge." - The Legal 500 UK 2016
"A "consummate corporate lawyer" who "goes the extra mile for you around the clock."" – Chambers UK 2015
"Clients say he is "a well-connected lawyer who is extremely client-focused, very bright and knowledgeable but not at all arrogant." – Chambers UK 2015
Recommended in Corporate and Commercial: M&A and Insurance: corporate and regulatory. – The Legal 500 UK 2014
"Clients compliment his expertise and responsiveness, with one remarking: "His strengths are an unwavering work ethic which sees him commit to delivering projects come what may. For such a high-profile partner at the firm, his client contact and relationship management are first rate."– Chambers UK 2014
Relevant work
- Aviva on its acquisition of Lloyd’s insurer Probitas for £242m, marking Aviva’s return to the thriving Lloyd’s of London market after more than 20 years
- MS Amlin on £1.2bn 'split' RITC and LPT transactions, the largest ever third-party Reinsurance-to-Close (RITC) transaction in Lloyd's
- Senior management of AgriBriefing on acquisition by Mintec, a leading global provider of price data, analytics, and forecasts for agri-food
- Ebury on its £350m investment by Santander
- Howden Group on its acquisition of AEGIS Insurance Agencies in Singapore
- Howden Group on its acquisition of leading financial services intermediary, SPF Private Clients
- Senior management of Learnlight, an EdTech platform with operations across Europe, North America and Mexico, on the recent investment in Learnlight by Synova
- Optio Group and management on the investment by Preservation Capital Partners (PCP), and PCP/Optio on subsequent acquisitions and financing
- Assured Partners on the acquisition of leading Irish insurance broker Gallivan Murphy
- Essity on its acquisitions of Georgia – Pacific's European tissue business and Proctor & Gamble's European tissue business
- Axcel Partners on the acquisition of Carousel Logistics
- Mosaic Insurance on the acquisition and strategic arrangement with SiriusPoint, and its initial start up in Lloyd's backed by Golden Gate Capital
- Beat Capital Partners on the investment by Bain Capital Credit and strategic partnership
- Beat Capital Partners on the London Bridge/Lloyd's ILS arrangement with a leading Canadian pension fund (the first deal of its kind using the London Bridge/Lloyd's ILS structure)
- Paine Schwartz on the sale of Meadow Foods and various investments
- Management team of Asta on the sale by a Paraline led consortium to Davies Group
- Management team of Swinton on its sale to Ardonagh
- MS Amlin on its "split RITC" with Riverstone (the first significant deal of this kind in the market)
- Dods Group on its acquisition of Merit Group, and related fundraising