Jonathan Chamberlain
Partner
- Qualified, Solicitor of England & Wales (1993)
5
years rated in Best Lawyers™ global peer review guide
25+
Longest term client relationship, still ongoing, for over 25 years.
16
years member of Gowling WLG's US Desk, working for USA Inc and USA LLP
Little surprises me any more, although I can still be shocked. The latter may be useful: the UK is re-collectivising its workforce at the same time as increasing protection for individual workers as never before. All this as AI begins to revolutionise the workplace. Truly we live in interesting times.
Jonathan Chamberlain
Head of Employment Law (UK)
Bio
Jonathan heads up the UK Employment Labour and Equalities Team. He brings 30 years of practical experience — as lawyer, manager, adviser and director — to both the resolution of complex human resources and legal problems and to harnessing the power, energy and creativity of the workforce to the benefit of the organisation.
Equally at home on the shopfloor or in the office and boardroom as he is in court, his practice has taken him from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpa and through the commercial and political capitals of Europe. He is the client's choice to solve the unsolvable and move the intractable.
Emotional intelligence and empathy are at the core of his practice. He cites 'listening' as his core skill — all his career to date teaching him that understanding what is actually going on is key to advising on it and getting to the essential resolution.
In his own words
This job is a privilege. I get to understand what makes an organisation tick; what is its culture, what are its values; what are its goals, its commercial or operational imperatives. To be effective, I have to get right under the bonnet, or 'hood' as my US colleagues would say, drawing on every bit of empathy and experience I have. Plus, employment, labour & equality law is at the forefront of social change, never far from the headlines. I work alongside my clients' brightest and best to guide them through the problems and identify the opportunities. A joy, even in what can sometimes be the most difficult circumstances.