Schona Jolly KC > Cloisters > London, England > Barrister Profile
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1 PUMP COURT, TEMPLE
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Schona Jolly KC
Position
Schona Jolly QC has a high profile domestic and international practice, with her principal areas of specialism in equality, employment, civil liberties/human rights law, EU and public international law.
Her practice intersects widely with other areas of law, including public, sports and housing law. She works on AI intersecting with equality/human rights, business and human rights matters and advises frequently on positive action. She acts for a wide range of Claimants and Defendants/Respondents (including in group litigation) and is longstanding Panel Counsel to the EHRC. She has several matters currently before the European Court of Human Rights.
Widely sought-after for her strategic advice on litigation and policy in the UK and internationally, especially on equality/human rights issues, she acts and advises for many high profile individuals/organisations, including international NGOS, national bodies across governance, politics, media and entertainment.
Schona is available for mediations and investigations. She is Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee and Head of Cloisters Human Rights Group.
Career
Called to the Bar 1999; Licence Speciale (European Law) at University of Brussels; BA Jurisprudence, Magdalen College, Oxford.
Contributing author:-
– British Academy: Judicial Independence in Times of Crisis (to be published)
– OUP ‘Equal Pay’ : Introduction to EU law, Brexit and Equal Pay;
– Sweet & Maxwell, ‘Human Rights Practice’: Article 9 ECHR.
– ‘Discrimination in Employment: A Claims Handbook’, LAG, 2013.
Co-author: Age Discrimination Handbook, LAG 2006
Former associate editor of the European Human Rights Reports.
Regular academic/media contributions.
Languages
Legally fluent in French. High level Spanish, Punjabi, Intermediate Hindi/Urdu, Basic Arabic.
Memberships
Bar Human Rights Committee; JUSTICE, ELA, ILA, DLA, IBA, ELBA, ALBA, Women in Sports Law.
Education
University of Brussels (Licence Speciale European Law); Magdalen College, Oxford (BA Jurisprudence).
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Employment
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Schona Jolly KC – Cloisters ‘Schona is a marvel to watch on her feet – quick-witted and able to deftly pivot according to the bench’s mood, while also being resilient and forceful when required. Her advice is always exceptional – structured and intelligent. Her tactical acumen is impressive.’
Cloisters ‘has an excellent employment law offering‘. The ‘very strong‘ team is ‘incredibly knowledgeable‘ and has an excellent track record for advising across the full spectrum of employment law matters. Discrimination cases form a key pillar of the practice, and members report an uptick in equal pay claims as well as undertaking larger volumes of sensitive investigations. Schona Jolly KC and Ruaraidh Fitzpatrick represented the applicant before the European Court of Human Rights in Buttet v UK, which considered the extent to which the law of state immunity can prevent foreign nationals from bringing proceedings against their own governments in the British courts. In another matter, Caspar Glyn KC and Adam Ohringer successfully acted for an employer before the Employment Tribunal in a claim concerning the dismissal of care home employees who declined COVID-19 vaccinations. Key growth for the set includes Sheryn Omeri KC and Akua Reindorf KC taking silk in March 2023, and Andrew Watson joined the team in June 2023.
London Bar > Administrative law and human rights
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Schona Jolly KC –Cloisters ‘A compelling advocate in court. She is fiercely intelligent, passionate and has an authoritative command of her brief.’
London Bar > Sport
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Schona Jolly KC – Cloisters ‘Schona slices through an issue with the highest of intellect. She is personable, collaborative, always sees the bigger picture and maps the best strategic approach with care and originality.’