Barrister Profile

Profile

Jesse has been a tenant in Chambers since successful completion of his pupillage on 3 October 2011. Jesse is available to accept instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice.

Areas of Practice

Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, and Healthcare Law

Jesse regularly appears in both interlocutory and final hearings in personal injury matters, as well as undertaking drafting and advisory work. He has a broad personal injury practice encompassing occupiers’ and employers’ liability, CICA and MIB claims, RTA and Highways Act cases, workplace stress/bullying claims, hazardous substances, inquests and conflict of laws issues. Jesse has worked on claims at all levels from straightforward claims to complex and catastrophic injuries (including amputation and brain injuries) and fatal accidents.

Jesse’s clinical negligence experience includes cases involving failure to diagnose, pre- and peri-natal mortality, negligent surgery and post-operative treatment, and injuries resulting from hospital acquired infection.

Prior to taking tenancy in Chambers, Jesse gained extensive experience in personal injury and clinical negligence as the pupil of Rob Hunter. He previously worked for the Personal Injury Department at Leigh Day & Co, where he also acted for a patients’ group before the Independent Inquiry into Care at Mid Staffordshire Hospital (chaired by Robert Francis QC) including drafting submissions on behalf of over 100 patients and relatives on standards of care at the hospital over a four year period, and advising on expert and whistle-blower evidence.

Employment and Discrimination

Jesse acts for both Claimants and Respondents. Recent work includes:

• acting for the Claimant in a disability discrimination, reasonable adjustments, and unfair dismissal claim against a police force;
• acting for an NHS Trust in unfair dismissal claims relating to an alleged TUPE (service provision change) transfer;
• acting for the Claimant in a pregnancy discrimination and unfair dismissal claim;
• acting for an NHS Trust in a disability discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal claim;
• acting for the Respondent in a sex discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal claim.

Jesse has experience of a broad range of employment and discrimination matters, gained both as a tenant and as the pupil of Akash Nawbatt and Andrew Burns. These include:

• unfair and wrongful dismissal claims;
• discrimination litigation (disability, age, race, sex, pregnancy, religion and belief);
• whistleblowing and protected disclosures;
• restrictive covenants and interlocutory injunctions;
• compromise agreements;
• collective agreements and industrial action;
• redundancy litigation;
• ET procedure and jurisdiction, including PHRs, costs and deposit orders;
• judicial mediation;
• TUPE;
• EAT advices and Notices of Appeal.

Commercial and Tax

Jesse's recent commercial work includes:

• acting for an Independent Financial Advisor in a professional negligence and contractual indemnity dispute; and
• acting for a guarantor in a claim under a contract of guarantee raising abuse of process issues.

As Andrew Burns’ pupil, Jesse gained experience of a wide range of commercial litigation, including insurance litigation (subrogation and indemnity claims, claims under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 and Riot (Damages) Act 1886, and the EL Trigger litigation (Supreme Court in December 2011, led by Colin Wynter QC)) and professional negligence actions (particularly solicitors’ and insurance brokers’ negligence). As the pupil of Rob Hunter, Jesse assisted in advising insurance companies on their general exposure under employers’ and public liability insurance.

As the pupil of Akash Nawbatt, Jesse worked on a number of cases for HM Revenue and Customs, including:

• Chilcott v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 1538 (share schemes and deductions under 144A ICTA 1988)
• McLaren v HMRC (deductibility of corporate fine)
• Grace v HMRC [2011] UKFTT 36 (TC) (residency, with Ingrid Simler QC)
• Davies & James v HMRC; Gaines-Cooper v HMRC [2011] UKSC 47 (residency and application of IR-20, with Ingrid Simler QC)

Education & Qualifications

Bar Vocational Course (Very Competent), BPP Law School

Graduate Diploma in Law (Commendation), City University

BA, Politics, Philosophy and Economics (First Class Hons.), Balliol College, Oxford University

Scholarships and Prizes

Inner Temple Sir John Ashworth and Duke of Edinburgh Scholarships (2008)

Inner Temple Exhibitioner (2007 & 2008)

Winner, City University Mooting Competition (2008)

GDH Cole Prize, Balliol College (2005)