Jonathan is senior partner of Herbert Smith LLP and in this leadership role chairs the firm's Partnership Council, which is responsible for management and strategic decisions made by the firm. A leading specialist in competition law, he also continues to advise clients on competition matters and other related strategic issues when his management responsibilities allow.
Jonathan joined Herbert Smith as a trainee in 1979 and became a partner in 1988. He set up the firm's Brussels office in 1989 and, after returning to the UK in the mid 1990s, led the firm's EU and Competition practice until 2007. He has served twice as an elected member of Herbert Smith's governance board, the LLPC, helping in this role to develop the firm's current strategy. He was also for three years the firm's graduate recruitment partner and was responsible for setting up its alumni programme.
Jonathan is one of the most highly regarded competition law specialists in the City of London, with extensive experience before the EU and UK competition authorities as well as in private enforcement cases in court. Companies who call upon his advice include Chevron, TUI, Virgin and Yell.
Credentials
- First Choice on competition aspects of its merger with the travel and tourism business of TUI AG
- Virgin Atlantic Airways on the investigations by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into long-haul passenger fuel surcharges
- Chevron on the competition aspects of its US$100 billion merger with Texaco and advising ChevronTexaco in relation to the EU’s challenge to the joint selling of Norwegian Gas
- Andersen UK on obtaining EU merger clearance for its merger with Deloitte & Touche
- JJB Sports plc on its leniency application for suspected cartel conduct in the sports retail industry and also on the Competition Commission's merger inquiry in relation to Sports Direct's completed acquisition of certain JJB stores
- Warner Music on its proposed offer to acquire BMG Publishing from Bertelsmann group and on its two most recent abortive attempts to merge with another music industry major
- Yell on the Competition Commission's study of the market for classified directory advertising services which included an assessment of the effect of undertakings by Yell Ltd within that market, and the effect of any changes in the market since the undertakings were given in 2001
- Provident Financial on the National Consumer Council's 'super-complaint' regarding the home credit industry and the subsequent referral of the case to the Competition Commission
- a number of ongoing investigations in the education sector
Other clients Jonathan regularly advises include Time Warner, Rio Tinto, Lonmin, Capita, Pearson, Pilkington and Wiseman Dairies