Jonathan is one of the UK's most sought after and highly respected barristers. His main areas of practice are corporate liability, criminal and civil fraud, media law, financial regulation, health and safety law and inquiries. He appears frequently in courts outside of the United Kingdom, principally in Hong Kong and Singapore.

His clients include many FTSE 100 companies, national newspapers, television companies and high profile individuals. During his career over the last twenty five years he has also appeared in numerous public inquiries and represented clients before sporting and other disciplinary tribunals. He is representing one of the world's largest newspaper groups before the Leveson Inquiry into the ethics, culture and practices of the press.

His corporate liability and serious fraud work has included some of the UK's and Hong Kong's most high profile cases. In corporate liability and health and safety he represented P&O Ferries after the Zeebrugge disaster and First Great Western after the Southall rail crash. In serious fraud he has appeared in most of the largest and well known cases of the last two decades including Guinness, Blue Arrow, Barings Bank and Maxwell. He also now advises in international corruption cases. He has advised government regulators as well as corporate clients.

His professional reputation is second to none. Chambers and Partners sources say that "excellent client handling skills and an astute technical eye make him one of the most sought after silks of his generation" and that he is "one of the greats and can hold a jury in the palm of his hand". Other commentators add that he is "sublime, hugely experienced and a man of great charisma" as well as being "hard working and tremendously smart". The Legal 500 meanwhile singles him out as "calm, unflappable and very dedicated....the star silk for criminal fraud" and "a gifted tactician".

Jonathan says he feels privileged to practice at the Bar and enjoys the variety and teamwork involved. "A lot of it", he says, "is pure common sense and judgment. Every case has only one or two key points that matter. The key is to identify them and then to develop them".

Notable cases

Health, Safety and Environment

Zeebrugge disaster 93 Criminal Appeal Reports 72

Southall Rail Crash: Attorney General's Reference (2000) 3 WLR 195

Tebay Rail disaster (2007) EWCA 624

Alton Towers noise prosecution (2007) EWHC 624

Hatfield derailment (Balfour Beatty) (2007) Business Law Reports 77

Guidelines on Fire Safety Order (2010) EWCA Civ 1268

Fraud

Defending in Guinness, Blue Arrow, Maxwell and Barings Bank

Defending in FSA first insider dealing prosecution (2009) Times Law Report 23rd June 2009

Prosecuting for SFO for misleading statements to the market regarding Langbar Limited: May 2011

Defending in Allied Group prosecution in Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (2001) 1 HKLRD 599

Defending in construction of money laundering provisions in Hong Kong in Court of Final Appeal (2006) HKEC 43

Media

Representing Daily Mail in first internet contempt case in Administrative Court (2011) EMLR 17

Representing Daily Mirror in contempt proceedings argued by the Attorney General in person before Lord Chief Justice ((2011) EWHC 2074 (Admin))

Representing Channel 5 before OFCOM Sanctions Committee (phone in competitions) in 2007

Representing Channel 4 and ITN in numerous proceedings

Representing John Cleese in libel proceedings (2004) EMLR 37

Enquiries

Representing Great Western Trains in the Southall Rail Accident Inquiry

Representing Associated Newspapers Limited in the Leveson Inquiry

Representing Lord Mandelson in the Hammond Inquiry into the Hinduja Affair

Representing the Surrey Police in the Guildford Bombings Inquiry

Representing individuals before sporting and disciplinary inquiries

Crime

Representing numerous FTSE companies and high net worth individuals in a variety of criminal matters. Also advising on occasions the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service and the Hong Kong Department of Justice.

Appointments

Queen's Counsel (1991)

Recorder of the Crown Court

Adjudicator of the Dubai Broadcasting and Publishers Standards Tribunal

Former Chairman of the Bar Council Public Affairs Committee

Bencher of Gray's Inn

Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Criminal Law (1990-2006)

Former Contributing Editor of "Fraud: Law, Practice and Procedure" (LexisNexis)

Corporate Liability Counsel 2011 Award (after a poll of thousands of readers of Finance Monthly)

On shortlist of three QCs for Criminal Silk of the Year 2010 by Chambers and Partners

Other

Chairman of BAFTA Management Limited

Patron Wiener Holocaust Library

Development Board of Royal Court Theatre (1997-2006)

Member of The Times Law Panel