[1][failed verification] James went to England for his schooling, and to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was tutored by future Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Herring, before studying law at the Inner Temple, London.

Passed into law in 1732 by the New York Assembly, "the Montgomerie Charter," was principally the work of James De Lancey, who, for his services, was presented with the Freedom of the City Medal.

Confident that Justices Frederick Philipse and De Lancey, who together constituted a majority of the Supreme Court of Judicature, would rule in his favor, he brought suit as a bill in equity in order to avoid a jury trial.

When two grand juries failed to return an indictment for seditious libel against journalist John Peter Zenger, the Attorney General filed an information and Justices Philipse and De Lancey issued a bench warrant.

Both challenged the make up of the court by arguing that Chief Justice Morris' summary removal was illegal and therefore so was De Lancey's appointment to replace him.

[5] The court appointed the relatively-inexperienced John Chambers, who nonetheless successfully challenged the list of jurors to ensure a non-biased panel.

In October 1754, Lieutenant Governor De Lancey granted a charter for the creation of King's College (now Columbia University).

De Lancey attended a council of governors of the colonies, held at Alexandria, Virginia, to coordinate defense matters with General Braddock against the French.