Mr Jonathan Crow KC KC > Chambers of George Bompas KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
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Mr Jonathan Crow KC KC
Work Department
Specialises in company/commercial litigation and public law. Numerous appearances in the Supreme Court/House of Lords, the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal and the European Court of Human Rights.
Position
Jonathan’s practice straddles a broad range of litigation, largely in the appellate courts where he appears both for private clients and for public authorities. He is recommended in 10 practice areas by Chambers UK and is ranked as one of the Stars of the Bar. In a career spanning 40 years he has been involved at the highest level in civil fraud (from Polly Peck to Madoff), company law (from Guinness to Atlantic Computers), corporate insolvencies (from BCCI to Lehmans), public law (from Guantanamo Bay to assisted suicide), constitutional law (from the Channel Islands to the Chagos Islands), telecoms (from the 3G auction to interconnection charges), consumer credit (from bank charges to PPI) and many other areas, including over 200 reported cases. He has appeared more than 40 times in the Supreme Court or the House of Lords, and on numerous other occasions in the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal and the European Court of Human Rights. He was First Treasury Counsel from 1998 until 2006, since when he has been named both as Commercial Litigation silk of the year and also as Chancery silk of the year by Chambers UK, as Lawyer of the Week by The Times (twice), and as one of the Legal 500’s Hot 100. In addition to his work in London, he also has a busy overseas practice, including work in relation to jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the BVI, Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, the Turks & Caicos Islands, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Apart from his work as an advocate, he acts as an LCIA arbitrator and sits part time as a Deputy High Court Judge in London (both in the Chancery Division and in the Administrative Court) and also as a judge of the Courts of Appeal in Jersey and Guernsey, and as a part-time Deemster in the Isle of Man. From 2006 to 2020 he served as Attorney General to HRH The Prince of Wales.
Career
Called 1981; Treasury Counsel 1994-98; First Treasury Counsel 1998-2006; Deputy High Court Judge 2001. Attorney General to HRH The Prince of Wales 2006. Court of Appeal Judge in Jersey & Guernsey 2011. Called to the Bar in the BVI, and also in Nevis, Bermuda and Cayman Islands for specific cases.
Publications: Annotated Companies Act 2006, OUP (contributing author).
Memberships
Chancery Bar Association (ChBA), Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR); Constitutional and Administration Law Bar Association (ALBA).
Education
St Paul’s School; Oxford University (1979 BA); The City University (1980 Dip Law).
Leisure
Athenaeum; RGS.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Jonathan Crow KC – 4 Stone Buildings ‘He is a top-tier advocate with vast experience. His advocacy is exceptional.’
4 Stone Buildings houses barristers specialising in a number of insolvency and restructuring services, with members experienced in cases ranging from directors’ disqualification, to CODA cases and insolvency litigation. Jonathan Crow KC has been involved in a number of high-value and high-profile cases, including Byers v Saudi National Bank, where liquidators brought a multi-million dollar claim of two insolvent companies against a bank for knowing receipt of funds paid in breach of trust. Tiran Nersessian is experienced in litigation, and has acted for the government and for private litigants, while Christopher Harrison has niche expertise in insolvency cases in the financial sector. Nicholas Wright and Zara McGlone are also key names at the set.
London Bar > International arbitration: counsel
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Jonathan Crow KC –4 Stone Buildings ‘His advocacy skills are outstanding – he is one of a very small number of supersilks, and definitely the man to have on your side on multi-billion-dollar arbitration enforcement. He has the court’s ear at every hearing and is grapples smoothly with the most complex point on geopolitically sensitive cases. Excellent to work with, and clients appreciate his wise, but charming counsel.’
London Bar > Company
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Jonathan Crow KC – 4 Stone Buildings ‘Highly accomplished and at the top of his game, Jonathan is creative and constructive, and a star performer as an advocate.’
4 Stone Buildings is ‘a pre-eminent set for company law‘. Members are highly regarded for advising across the full range of contentious and non-contentious company law matters, and the set has developed a reputation as a key point of contact for insurance company law. Jonathan Crow KC is a highly regarded silk, with a solid track record in appearing before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. At the junior end of chambers, Christopher Harrison is very well known for his expertise in representing defendants and claimants in shareholder disputes and directors’ disqualification matters.
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Jonathan Crow KC –4 Stone Buildings ‘Jonathan is now firmly established as one of the super silks at the Bar – the man to go to for the bet-the-company largest disputes. His advocacy skills are spectacular, and the breadth of his legal skills is such that he can always think of a tactical way of dealing with any point.’
Praised as a ‘go-to Chambers with strength in depth across both silks and juniors’, 4 Stone Buildings is experienced in handling high-profile commercial disputes in the Commercial and Chancery courts, as well as offshore forums. In Hulley Enterprises Ltd v. The Russian Federation, Jonathan Crow KC is representing the former owners of Yukos, who are seeking to enforce against an arbitration award against the Russian government concerning the expropriation of the oil company in 2007. John Brisby KC, leading Alastair Tomson, is instructed by the claimant in Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP in proceedings brought by a Jordanian national currently imprisoned in the UAE, alleging that the law firm and its partners and former partners engaged in serious misconduct that led to his conviction, inhumane treatment, and torture.
London Bar > Financial services and fintech regulation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Jonathan Crow KC –4 Stone Buildings ‘Jonathan is superb in every way and his advocacy is something to behold – simultaneously charming and deadly to a disingenuous party’s arguments.’
The English Bar Offshore > Commercial disputes
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Jonathan Crow KC – 4 Stone Buildings ‘Jonathan is a fantastic barrister and a great person to work with. For leading a team on large, complex cases, you would struggle to do better.’
4 Stone Buildings is increasingly active in cross-border contentious and non-contentious commercial matters, especially in the Caribbean. Company and commercial litigation are strong areas of expertise for Jonathan Crow KC, who regularly appears before Courts of Appeal and Supreme Courts. Hermann Boeddinghaus KC specialises in corporate and commercial disputes, with a particular focus on shareholder disputes, the recovery of assets, and cross-border enforcement. Alongside Orlando Fraser KC, Boeddinghaus KC acted for a Liberian company seeking the restitution of $6m, which it alleges it was defrauded of by BVI companies. George Bompas KC, in addition to BVI work, and has also appeared before the courts of Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands. Alexander Cook KC is frequently instructed to handle disputes in the BVI, and he is representing the claimant in a $43m commercial fraud claim (Von der Heydt Invest SA v Mex Securities S.a.r.l and Others). Among the set’s juniors sits Nicola Timmins, who is especially active in Bermuda, BVI, and Cayman proceedings, and Guy Olliff-Cooper is another key name.