The Legal 500

Work Department

Financial services and regulation.

Position

Jonathan Davies is a financial and insurance services lawyer with a wide ranging contentious and non-contentious practice. He advises firms whether they need FSA authorisation, helps them obtain it, advises them on all aspects of compliance and assists them with civil and regulatory proceedings. He also advises on and drafts insurance policies. Jonathan has been involved in matters arising out of all the major problems facing the UK financial services industry over the last decade, advising independent financial advisers, major life offices and their professional indemnity insurers. He has been involved in the Pensions Review (when he acted for the insurers and IFAs in the windfall shares test case, Needler Financial Services v Taber [2002] 3 All ER 501), Equitable Life, split capital investment trusts, precipice bonds, endowment mortgages and the collapses of Claims Direct and The Accident Group. He acted for Lloyd’s underwriters in the consumer credit litigation arising out of the collapse of TAG (Goshawk v The Bank of Scotland). He is currently involved in matters arising from the collapse of AIG, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander and Lehman Brothers. In addition, he acts in a wide variety of other pensions and financial services litigation, including claims arising from occupational pension schemes and small self-administered pension schemes. Past cases include Barlow Clowes and Signal Life. Jonathan also acted for defendant auditors in leading cases restricting their duties of care, including Al Saudi Banque v Clarke Pixley [1990] Ch 313 and Berg v Adams [1992] BCC661, [1993] BCLC 1045. Jonathan has been involved in a variety of insurance litigation, including acting for members and managing agencies in the Lloyd’s litigation and for the plaintiffs and brokers in Roadworks (1952) Limited v Charman [1994] 2LLR 99 (one of the leading cases on leading underwriter clauses at Lloyd’s). He also acted for Bain Clarkson Ltd in Punjab National Bank v de Boinville [1992] 1 WLR 1138 and for Allied Dunbar Assurance plc in BBL v Eagle Star [1995] LRLR 17.

Career

Articled Reynolds Porter Chamberlain; qualified 1986; partner 1989; regularly writes and speaks on regulatory and professional liability issues.

Member

Law Society; JUSTICE; Liberty; Financial Services Lawyers Association; Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers; Association of Pension Lawyers.

Education

Gravesend School for Boys; Christ Church, Oxford (1983 BA Jurisprudence); (1987 MA, 1984 Solicitors Finals); John Mackrell Prizewinner; Broderip and Easterbrook Prizewinner.

Leisure

Actively involved with the Liberal Democrats; member National Liberal Club.

Practice Areas

Financial services; Insurance (non-contentious); Professional disciplinary and regulatory law (including police law)