Jonathan Ward | Manchester, Leeds & Birmingham

Jonathan regularly appears in construction adjudications, arbitrations and in the Technology and Construction Court on all aspects of construction and engineering disputes. He has conducted multi-day trials in the TCC as sole counsel, and multi-week trials as junior counsel, including Amey v Cumbria County Council ([2016] EWHC 2856 (TCC)), a four-month trial in the TCC. He maintains a busy advisory practice.

An increasing proportion of Jonathan’s practice is concerned with tech law. Jonathan has a first-class degree in Artificial Intelligence and a good knowledge of a variety of computing languages and frameworks. He regularly acts in IT and tech disputes concerning defects, software licensing, and confidential information.

Jonathan serves as a co-opted member of the TECBAR committee, and on the TCC sub-committee of the Manchester BPC Forum.

Jonathan regularly appears in and advises in relation to arbitrations and adjudications, as sole counsel and junior counsel in a larger team, covering various commercial, construction and sports matters. As junior, Jonathan has been instructed in a substantial sport / financial fair play dispute, and in a heavy commercial dispute under ICC rules where claims exceed £2 billion.

Jonathan also appears regularly on arbitration and adjudication related business in the High Court, such as applications for stays, injunctions, challenges to awards, and enforcement of awards (including the enforcement of foreign awards under the New York Convention).

Jonathan regularly conducts trials, applications and appeals on a variety of commercial and contractual matters, including international disputes. He served as junior counsel in a five-week trial (BVI Commercial Court) concerning the misappropriation of the $75m proceeds of a sale of oil assets in Eastern Europe.

Jonathan has been instructed in relation to all manner of subrogated recovery actions resulting from fire, flood, cable and pipeline strikes, construction accidents, death in care, shipping etc. He also regularly advises on policy coverage.

Jonathan regularly acts and advises in relation to professional negligence disputes, particularly those with a technology and construction aspect, but also in relation to solicitors, valuers, and insurance brokers.

Jonathan has been instructed by various national and international banking organisations on a variety of matters, including disputes on guarantees and indemnities, bills of exchange, hire purchase agreements, mortgages, and hedge fund disputes. Jonathan has been published in The Hedge Fund Journal.

He has a broad experience of shareholder disputes, including international matters; unfair prejudice, just and equitable winding up; ex parte injunctions for freezing orders and appointment of receivJonathan spent two years (2013-2015) at one of the leading offshore law firms, as in-house counsel in the British Virgin Islands. He developed expertise in private international law across a range of cross-border disputes, with an emphasis on shareholder and fraud work. He acted for the liquidators and provisional liquidators of, amongst other things, international hotel chains and airlines; appeared weekly in the BVI Commercial Court as sole counsel, often on heavy applications, and appeared regularly in the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal (including the successful appeal on a significant BVI case on forum non conveniens).