Global law firm Freshfields today announces the appointment of James Barnett as Global Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective June 2025.

Based in New York, Barnett joins from J.P. Morgan Chase, where he was a Managing Director, and recently served as Global Head of Sustainable Investing Integration and previously as Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) & CFO of Asset Management’s Global Equities business, where he was a key member of the Global Equities Operating Committee.

Bringing more than 25 years of leadership experience and a demonstrated success of transforming and leading strategic and operational finance functions globally, Barnett served in many leadership roles during his tenure, including as COO for JP Morgan Asset Management’s US Equity business, and as CFO & COO for Asset Management’s Technology & Operations division.

Freshfields Global Managing Partner Rick van Aerssen said: “We are delighted to welcome James to the firm as we continue on our accelerated strategic growth. His longstanding and impressive career journey extends to broader business operations management, driving continuous improvement, innovation, and strategic value-add across a range of functional areas of the enterprises he has led. He is a compelling addition to our global platform. We look forward to working closely with James and driving forward our ambitions.”

James Barnett commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining Freshfields as their CFO. I am very much looking forward to being part of the team, helping to shape the future of the firm and to my contributing to their continued success.”