Forbes Solicitors

Insurance

Jonathan is a 42 years qualified Solicitor who has held the distinction of being identified in the Hall of Fame, in Legal 500, for a number of years. He joined Forbes Solicitors, as a Consultant, after a distinguished career at BLM, moving to Clyde & Co upon merger.

His experience includes being an Equity Partner, a Member of the Executive Board, being instrumental in the strategic decisions in BLM for more than 24 years and holding responsibility for leading the Insurance Sector Business.

His experience leading the client relationship with two international multi line insurers saw growth of those relationships in Casualty, Property and professional lines litigation as he and the firm became strategic partners for those insurers.

His technical expertise started in the public sector acting for Metropolitan, City and County Councils in respect of injury claims, defamation and electoral claims. Jonathan acted for Fire and Police authorities facing rising claims numbers whilst advising on strategies to reduce those claims at source through improved risk management. His work in the public sector included advising a Metropolitan City Council during a review of safeguarding practices in Social Services after shortcomings had been identified in their multi-disciplinary responses to vulnerable children.

Jonathan represented a national charity facing a number of large scale group actions involving historical abuse with the causes of action dating back to the 1960s and 70s, with some back to the 1950s. Some had international components to the claims. He advised on the liability, value and the strategic approach to the litigation. He also assisted the client’s response to the inevitable press interest and the reputational risk caused by such very distressing claims.

His career developed into the commercial sector and representing UK and multinational corporate entities across a number of sectors including builders merchants, transport and warehousing and property management.

During the epidemic of Noise Induced Hearing Loss claims Jonathan led a team supporting a client’s needs to meet the challenges faced by the huge surge in frequency of these claims,  being instrumental in creating a multi firm solution for that client.

The NIHL claims also saw Jonathan providing strategic guidance on challenging the behaviour of a claimant law firm in their handling of NIHL cases. The outcome ultimately being the closure of that law firm.

As a Consultant with Forbes he continues to be involved in historic and contemporary abuse safeguarding claims. He supports the growth and development of the Insurance Team in the Market Sector and with new and existing clients including the development of new propositions.