Jonathan Selby KC > The Chambers of Alexander Nissen KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
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Keating Chambers
15 ESSEX STREET
LONDON
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England
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Jonathan Selby KC
Position
Jonathan Selby KC was called to the Bar in 1999 and was made Queen’s Counsel in 2018. He specialises in Construction and Engineering, Energy and Professional Negligence claims (architects, engineers and surveyors).
He was recently described as “a real fighter who puts his heart into things and gets results” who “gets to the issues straight away, and is very pragmatic and a good tactician.” Jonathan frequently appears in high value litigation in the Technology and Construction Court and has a long list of reported cases from that Court and the Court of Appeal. He is particularly well known for his work on cases concerning apartment blocks, hotels, fire safety and building warranty claims.
Jonathan is often instructed to act for clients in arbitration, adjudication and mediations and is a practising accredited Adjudicator.
Career
Queen’s Counsel, 2018
Lay Member of the RIBA Professional Conduct Panel, 2017-to date
Public Access Training, 2008 & 2015
TECBAR Accredited Adjudicator, 2007
Keating Chambers, 2001
Pupillage, Keating Chambers, 2000-2001
Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn), 1999
Languages
French, German.
Memberships
Technology and Construction Bar Association (TECBAR)
Society of Construction Law
Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)
London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association.
Education
Liverpool College; St Catharine’s College, Cambridge (MA Law 1st).
Leisure
Jonathan is a big sports fan and particularly enjoys football, cricket, tennis and swimming. His other passions are food and cinema.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Construction
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Jonathan Selby KC – Keating Chambers ‘Jonathan is a brilliant advocate – in a trial, there cannot be many better. He has fantastic attention to detail, a probing and inquiring mind and is therefore devastating on technical and factual cross examination. His written and advisory work is excellent – commercial and authoritative.’
As an ‘excellent specialist set’ in construction law, Keating Chambers continues to impress with its representation in an array of high-profile cases, both in the UK and abroad. In addition to the set’s global presence in arbitrations, domestic instructions include Martlet Homes v Mulalley, the first post-Grenfell cladding fire safety case to go to trial, where Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson represented the claimants, while Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acted for the defendants. Other key cases include Cambridgeshire County Council v BAM Nuttall Limited, a long-running case concerning a guided busway in Cambridgeshire, involving Piers Stansfield KC, Sarah Williams, and Harry Smith acting for the claimant. Paul Bury, acting for Resource Recovery Solutions (Derbyshire) Limited, and Lucy Garrett KC, who is representing Derbyshire CC & Derby CC, are instructed to appear on opposite sides of a dispute revolving around the termination of a PFI contract for the Derby waste-to-energy plant. The set has seen the addition of Alexandra Bodnar from 39 Essex Chambers. Paul Buckingham KC and William Webb KC both took silk in March 2023, while Adam Constable KC (as was) is now on the High Court bench.
London Bar > Professional negligence
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 4Jonathan Selby KC – Keating Chambers ‘Jonathan is a brilliant advocate – in a trial, there cannot be many better.’
Keating Chambers is considered a go-to set for construction disputes, with a natural consequence being its members handling a wide range of professional negligence cases concerning national and international projects. The set is heavily involved in post-Grenfell building safety and cladding instructions and disputes. In Martlet Homes v Mulalley, Jonathan Selby KC acted in the Court of Appeal and High Court concerning a contractor’s alleged failure in designing the building’s cladding fire safety. Outside of cladding, in Northumbria Hospitals NHS Trust v Lendlease, Vincent Moran KC acted for the contractor, Lendlease, in a £120 million defects claim in the TCC concerning a new hospital.