Jonathan Hough QC

Jonathan has considerable experience of a wide range of business disputes, from financial and professional services to heavy industry.  His work in this area overlaps with his practice in insurance, consumer credit / financial regulation and professional liability.  He is experienced in jurisdictional disputes and claims for urgent interim relief.

Cases

Jonathan’s practice covers insurance and reinsurance of most classes of risk, including general commercial liability (EL/PL/products); professional indemnity; property; motor; legal expenses; trade credit; D&O; property title; personal accident / disablement; financial risk; cyber risks.

He regularly advises on, and acts in, substantial coverage disputes and in business disputes between insurers, underwriting agencies and reinsurers. He acts for insurers in substantial subrogated actions to recover their outlay.  Non-contentious work includes drafting policy wordings and other contractual documents, including binding authority agreements.  He is familiar with regulatory obligations of insurers and intermediaries under FSMA 2000 / ICOBS and with advising on the FOS jurisdiction (including challenges).  He also advises professionals on indemnity insurance issues, including notifications and coverage.

Important recent cases in this field include Euro Pools v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc [2019] EWCA Civ 808 (professional indemnity insurance notifications); AXA Corporate Solutions SA v Weir Services Australia Pty Ltd [2016] Lloyd’s Rep 578 (jurisdiction / anti-suit injunction) and [2018] Lloyd’s Rep IR 50 (coverage of large product liability claim); PM Law Ltd v Motorplus Ltd [2016] EWHC 193 (QB), [2017] EWHC 1352 (QB) and [2018] EWCA Civ 1730 (insurance referral agreement).

He is recommended by Chambers UK and Legal 500 as a leading silk in this field.  Comments in recent editions include the following:

“Used for the most sensitive and high-profile work. Jonathan is simply outstanding; he is able to grasp huge amounts of detail, and keep a clear view of the key issues and strategy at the same time.” (Legal 500 2021 – Insurance and Reinsurance)

“He is a very strong and shrewd operator whose pleadings are excellent and judgement is very good.” “He has an excellent manner with clients, he’s very responsive and talks to people at their level.” “His ability to take complex arguments and make something clear and forceful from them is impressive.” (Chambers & Partners 2021 – Insurance)

“He is incredibly user-friendly and has the brain the size of a planet.” “His written work is absolutely superb.” (Chambers UK 2020 – Insurance)

“He stands out for his intellect and ability to grasp the issues very quickly.” (Legal 500 2020 – Insurance and Reinsurance)

“A charming and persuasive advocate who is extremely responsive, user-friendly and meticulous in his analysis and preparation of arguments.” “Excellent with clients.” (Chambers UK 2019 – Insurance)

“Clever and solutions-oriented, he has an ability to present arguments in a clear and concise way, both on paper and on his feet.” “He is extremely thorough, really steeped in insurance law, extremely personable and someone who’s always looking to add value to the client.”  (Chambers UK 2018 – Insurance)

“Takes on the full spectrum of coverage disputes, handling both litigation and arbitration cases, and is also regularly instructed in disputes between insurers and reinsurers.  He receives strong praise for his advocacy skills and his ability to remain contactable despite his heavy workload….   ‘He provides careful, comprehensive advice in a timely manner, is particularly responsive and works in a collaborative manner.’  ‘He just makes everything easy for you.  You ask him something and you get chapter and verse action points – it’s amazing.’” (Chambers UK 2017, Insurance)

Cases

Jonathan is ranked by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a leading silk in the field of professional negligence.  Comments in the latest directories include:

“He is a brain on a stick – fantastic on insurance coverage, very determined to please you and clients, and very user-friendly.” “He’s just fantastic, really responsive, really ‘on it’ and just brilliant all round. We always know we’ll get very clear advice.” (Chambers & Partners 2021, Professional Negligence)

“Jonathan’s attention to detail is second to none. He can assimilate a huge amount of information in a short period. Jonathan’s drafting is excellent, he always gets the important points and pitches it just right.”  (Legal 500 2021, Professional Negligence)

“A terrific advocate who has a very good courtroom manner and is very robust and persuasive, which goes down well with judges.” “He is approachable, very responsive and extremely bright; he provides sound written advice and was flawless at trial.” (Chambers UK 2020, Professional Negligence)

“A charming, persuasive and polished advocate.” (Legal 500 2020, Professional Negligence)

“Meticulous, great in conference and on his feet in court. Highly recommended.” “Very quietly confident and assured, gets his point across very effectively without bluster.”  (Chambers UK 2019, Professional Negligence)

“Very bright, methodical with a great mastery of the detail.” (Legal 500 2019, Professional Negligence)

“A ferociously clever go-to leader on defence and coverage cases.” (Chambers & Partners, 2018, Professional Negligence)

“He has excellent commercial awareness and provides advice on how to achieve practical resolutions.” (Legal 500 2017, Professional Negligence)

“He displays a thorough approach to litigation.”  (Legal 500 2016, Professional Negligence)

He has considerable experience in professional liability claims against a range of different types of professional, including lawyers, financial services professionals, insurance professionals and surveyors.  He also has some experience of acting in litigation against construction professionals and in clinical negligence proceedings.

Professional indemnity insurance disputes concerning a wide range of professionals form a significant part of his insurance practice, and he has drafted professional indemnity policy wordings for insurers.

He is an editor of the current edition of Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability.

Jonathan has a wide range of experience in public and administrative law, advising and acting for public bodies, companies and private individuals in judicial review claims.  He has almost unrivalled experience and expertise in the law relating to coroners and inquests.  His broader public law experience extends to matters of local government finance, transport regulation, illegal trading, financial and professional regulation.

He is recommended by both Chambers UK and the Legal 500 as a leading silk in both administrative and public law and public inquiries and inquests. Shortlisted by Legal 500 for Public Law Silk of the Year 2018.

Comments in recent editions of the directories include the following:

“A master of the detail and the strategy.” (Legal 500 2021, Administrative & Public Law)

“Incredibly thorough and absolutely great at getting into the detail himself but also at presenting things to clients in a really straightforward and simple way. That sounds like what you expect from any lawyer, but when you encounter someone who is as good at it as he is it’s really quite outstanding.” (Chambers & Partners 2021, Administrative & Public Law)

“The perfect example of an advocate who has the ear of the court. When he speaks the chair listens because they know he says reasonable and sensible things.” “He is astonishing – he is extraordinarily responsive, prompt, meticulously organised and his attention to detail is superb. Clients find him a joy to work with and the quality of his work is exemplary.” “He is still the go-to for coroners across the land as he knows so much about the conduct of inquests.” (Chambers & Partners 2021, Inquests & Public Inquiries)

“A leading light for his knowledge and application of inquest law. He works very hard and is a very effective advocate.” (Legal 500 2021, Inquests & Inquiries)

“He’s incredibly bright and the judges respect him enormously. For things that require high levels of intellect, he’s your man.” “He’s got an immense intellect but can explain things in a very straightforward way. He almost knows what the other side’s next steps will be: he’s already got his contingency plans in hand and a proper strategy around the case you’re running.” (Chambers UK 2020, Administrative and Public Law)

“An exceptional inquest expert. He’s ideal as counsel to the inquest because he’s very measured, balanced and well suited to holding the reins in the right way.” “The classic example of how it should be done.” “He has the reputation as the go-to leading counsel on all inquest matters and is quite rightly the trusted adviser to coroners up and down the country. He can make fantastic written and oral submissions and is incredibly quick on his feet.” (Chambers UK 2020, Inquests and Inquiries)

“His preparation is meticulous, his advocacy is incisive, his attention to detail is superb and his thought process is unchallengeable.” (Legal 500 2020, Inquests and Inquiries)

“Simply brilliant in all respects and does everything with personality, wit and charm.” (Legal 500 2019, Administrative and Public Law)

“He’s incredibly intelligent and knows the law inside and out. He takes a very structured approach and is able to think with absolute clarity.” (Chambers UK 2019, Inquests and Inquiries)

“Simply brilliant in every aspect of his trade. He is the coronial law expert at the Bar.”(Legal 500 2019, Inquests and Inquiries)

“Deeply impressive… He is brilliant on the law but also has a strategic way of approaching problems.  It is usually impossible to argue against his logic.” (Chambers UK 2018, Administrative and Public Law)

“A true expert in coronial proceedings. He is a barrister who has extensive experience of acting as counsel to the inquests. His written and oral submissions are impeccable. He’s the man most coroners would want in their corner.” “He very quickly understands any issue you put before him and he can think strategically on any point. He is a rare talent.”  (Chambers UK 2018, Public Inquiries and Inquests)

“Combines clear and persuasive drafting with fearsome advocacy.” (Legal 500 2017, Administrative and Public Law)

“A leader in coronial law and an extremely compelling advocate.” (Legal 500 2017, Public Inquiries and Inquests)

“Recommended for his phenomenally deep knowledge of coronial law.  He offers expert advice to coroners on all aspects of inquests and is regularly called upon to handle the most high-profile cases… ‘He is the oracle for inquest work, he is just brilliant.  His written submissions are particularly strong, they are so well formulated that they become almost unanswerable.  His preparation is meticulous, he thinks like a judge.’” (Chambers UK 2017, Public Inquiries and Inquests – band 1 leading silk)

“Urbane and has the confidence of the court.  He is a delight to work with and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law.”  “The master of reply when on his feet, he can deal with any oral submissions made…” (Chambers UK 2016, Public Inquiries and Inquests)

“There is no one who knows more about coronial law than him” (Legal 500 2016, Public Inquiries and Inquests)

He has appeared in several important cases on the scope and application of Convention Rights.  For example, he appeared for the successful intervening insurers in the House of Lords in Wilson v First County Trust [2004] AC 816, the leading case on the compatibility of domestic consumer credit law with the ECHR.  He also appeared in the case which decided that domestic law of self defence is compatible with Article 2 of the ECHR (R (Bennett) v HM Coroner for Inner South London [2006] HRLR 22) and in the case which set the balance between a news organisation’s source protection rights and the need for thorough public inquiry by a tribunal.  He acted in landmark proceedings concerning the circumstances in which a person in hospital intensive care is “deprived of liberty” under Article 5 of the ECHR: R (Ferreira) v Inner South London Coroner (Intensive Care Society and others intervening) [2017] 3 WLR 382. He appeared for the Chief Coroner of England and Wales in the important case of R (Adath Yisroel Burial Society) v HM Senior Coroner for Inner North London [2019] QB 251, which concerned the circumstances in which coroners could prioritise consideration of deaths on religious grounds and raised various issues under Articles 9 and 14.

Jonathan is top-ranked by Chambers directory in the field of inquiries and inquests.  He has acted as counsel to the inquiry in the inquests concerning: the Hillsborough Disaster (Lord Justice Goldring); the death of Princess Diana (Lord Justice Scott Baker); the shooting of Jean-Charles de Menezes (Sir Michael Wright); the Potters Bar Rail Disaster (HH Judge Baker QC); the Grayrigg Derailment; the explosion on HMS Tireless (nuclear submarine); the fatal shooting of PC Terry in firearms training; the killing of Sabina Akhtar; the death of Dale Burns (following designer drug use and police Taser applications).  He appeared for the MOD in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.  He is now appearing for a major insurer in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. He acted as counsel to the inquiry both in the Westminster Bridge Terror Attack Inquests and in the London Bridge Terror Attack Inquests, having been appointed by the Chief Coroner.

Jonathan has appeared in over 30 reported judicial review claims against coroners in the Administrative Court and Court of Appeal.

Cases

Jonathan has special expertise in consumer credit law and has appeared in a number of important reported cases (in the Court of Appeal and House of Lords) in this field.  He regularly advises on consumer credit agreements and credit schemes in various commercial contexts.

He is one of very few ranked by Chambers UK and the Legal 500 as a leading silk in the field of consumer law, and is recommended with particular reference to consumer credit.  Recent comments in the directory include:

“He is top-notch, has impressive legal acumen and is a strong advocate.” “His strengths are his depth of knowledge and his clarity of thought and explanation.” (Chambers & Partners 2021, Consumer)

“His advice is always clear, concise and commercial. A good communicator. Always prompt with his advice.” (Legal 500 2021, Consumer)

“He has an amazing practice; he’s a barrister of choice.” “He cuts to the heart of a problem, providing detailed analysis and clear advice.” (Chambers UK 2020, Consumer Law)

“Recommended for his intellectual prowess and excellent court skills.” (Legal 500 2020, Consumer)

“Incredibly intelligent, knows the law inside and out and is a man with a very structured mind.” (Chambers UK 2019, Consumer)

“He is a tower of strength. He is a formidable cross-examiner and very good to work with.”  (Chambers UK 2018, Consumer Law)

“Well versed in consumer credit matters, he provides representation for financial entities and their clients, and is an expert on consumer credit agreements and documentation… ‘He has an excellent way of making the complicated understandable.’  ‘Very incisive, he’s a strong advocate who delivers exceptionally prompt and well thought-through advice.’” (Chambers UK 2017, Consumer Law

Cases