Jonathan Scott

Jonathan has a broad practice, including heavy-duty commercial litigation, arbitration, and competition cases before the Competition Appeals Tribunal and the Courts. He has considerable experience of working on big cases, in big teams, with a leader (or leaders); but is equally happy acting as sole counsel. Jonathan’s more recent commercial work has had a particular focus on banking, civil fraud, energy and professional negligence, but he is interested in, and will happily accept instructions in, all types of commercial disputes, as well as competition matters. Jonathan is experienced in group litigation, both under the CPR (where he is instructed for a Lead Defendant in the Diesel Emissions litigation) and under the CAT’s collective proceedings regime. He is often instructed in cases with an international element and enjoys grappling with the issues of jurisdiction and conflict of law that arise.

Highlights of Jonathan’s current and recent instructions include:

Cavallari and ors v Mercedes-Benz: acting (with Helen Davies KC and Richard Blakeley) for the defendants in this substantial group litigation, concerning the emissions of diesel vehicles and the alleged use of ‘defeat devices’. Jonathan appeared at a two-week trial of issues of German and EU law in October 2024, and will appear in a forthcoming 10-week trial of liability issues commencing in October 2025.
Wirral Council v Reckitt Benckiser Group plc: acting (with Helen Davies KC Tony Singla KC) for a defendant to a claim under s.90A / schedule 10A of the Financial Services and Markets Act. The claim has been brought as an ‘opt in’ representative action under CPR 19.8, following dicta in Lloyd v Google [2021] UKSC 50. Reckitt successfully applied to strike out the proceedings on the basis that they should not proceed as a representative action, and successfully defended an appeal against that judgment, with Jonathan appearing at both hearings.
Re Trina Solar: appeared (with Mark Howard KC) in the Privy Council, acting for the dissenting shareholders in an appeal concerning the appraisal rights regime under s.238 of the Cayman Islands Companies Law. Judgment is awaited. Jonathan assisted with the trial of the action in 2019 and with the Dissenting Shareholders’ appeal heard in 2022. The Court of Appeal judgment, handed down in May 2023, secured a substantial increase in the award payable to Jonathan’s clients, and gave important guidance on the evidence required to prove the reliability of the merger price in future cases.
Sina Corporation: this is another claim under s.238 of the Cayman Islands Companies Law. Jonathan assisted with the 4-week trial of this action in early 2025, and with several interlocutory hearings in the preceding 18 months.
Trucks Cartel Litigation: acting for a defendant truck manufacturer in a series of follow-on cartel damages claims (with Daniel Jowell KC, David Bailey and Tom Pascoe). These include both ordinary claims and collective proceedings. Jonathan has appeared at various hearings in this litigation, including an appeal against aspects of class certification. This was one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2019, and is still ongoing.
Magomedov and ors v TPG and ors: acting (with Tim Lord KC, Thomas Plewman KC, Will Hooper and Jessie Ingle) for a Russian businessman and his companies, in a claim alleging a fraudulent conspiracy to wrest assets from the claimants for the benefit of Russian state companies, with the total quantum of the claim running to some US$13.8 billion. Jonathan appeared unled at a hearing of the Claimants’ application to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction and for alternative service.
Federal Republic of Nigeria v JP Morgan [2022] EWHC 1447 (Comm): acting for the Nigerian state in a claim alleging breach of the banker’s Quincecare duty of care, for in excess of $1 billion (with Roger Masefield KC and Richard Blakeley). This was one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2019. Jonathan appeared at the 7-week trial of the claim, heard in Spring 2022, and on various interlocutory applications.
Acting for the claimant in a c. $750m ICC arbitration relating to the sale of an interest in an oil field, involving allegations of breach of contract and deceit (with Tim Lord KC and Michael Bolding). The case went to a final hearing in the summer of 2021.

Before coming to the Bar, Jonathan worked for two years at an asset management firm, specialising in currency risk hedging. Jonathan was part of a team responsible for analysing and improving the firm’s currency derivative investment strategies, and also co-authored a book chapter on emerging market currency investing.

Jonathan graduated from the University of Oxford in 2012, with first class honours in philosophy, politics and economics. He later converted to law, and was awarded the Ann Ebsworth Award, the Birkenhead Award and the Atkin Scholarship by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn.

YEAR OF CALL: 2017