James founded Avantia in 2019, having previously been a Managing Director and GC of the asset manager Och-Ziff (now Sculptor Capital). At Och-Ziff, James covered trading and regulatory matters, as well as PE, real estate and a special sits lending business. James also sat on the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to this, James was a corporate lawyer at Slaughter and May and holds a law degree from Oxford University.