James served as lead attorney for energy and regulatory reform matters in the legal department of the World Bank between 1996 and 1998. James was also a law clerk for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit between 1986 and 1989 and served in the chambers of Judge William W. Wilkins, Jr., prior to joining the firm in 1989.

James is a frequent speaker on energy and infrastructure subjects, including the scaling challenges of developing renewable energy resources, attracting and sustaining public-private partnerships in infrastructure investments, developing and financing cross-border and multijurisdictional infrastructure investments, developing institutional capacities of new regulatory agencies in licensing and tariff-setting activities, and on legal and policy issues related to market design, sector restructuring and commercialization of state-owned utilities.