$250m+

aggregate value of damages awarded

Who is Jonathan Waters?

Jonathan Waters is an award-winning General Counsel based in the UK. He is an employed barrister as well as a qualified arbitrator and registered mediator. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration and a faculty member at the London International Arbitration School.

Jonathan has worked as an in-house lawyer for 30+ years, including 25+ in senior positions. This has included work across multiple sectors and jurisdictions, including insurance, hospitality, healthcare, and soft commodities.

For the last decade he has served as the General Counsel of GAFTA (The Grain and Feed Trade Association). He is responsible for all group legal affairs and GAFTA's international arbitration service, which handles in excess of 400 commercial arbitration disputes a year.

Jonathan also provides part-time legal consultancy work through the law firm MyInHouseLawyer. There he specialises in helping ambitious SMEs with dispute resolution, as well as employment and commercial contracts.

A seasoned public speaker and part-time law lecturer, Jonathan has delivered hundreds of talks, webinars, and presentations on mediation and arbitration in more than 20 different countries.

Read Jonathan's work history

Jonathan Waters

One of the UK's leading legal minds for arbitration and mediation, Jonathan is a multi-award winning General Counsel, barrister, arbitrator, mediator, and law lecturer.

With 30+ years of in-house legal experience, Jonathan is known for his known for his clarity and sound judgment during legally- and commercially-complex situations.

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Awards and recognition

Jonathan has been recognised time and time again internationally for excellence in mediation and arbitration.

In 2015 he was featured in Lawyer Magazines Top 100 lawyers in the UK. In 2024 he was listed in the IE 100 awards, which recognises 100 of the most influential business leaders and senior executives who make a significant impact on the UK economy.

Selected awards include:

International Arbitration Expert of the Year (Global Advisory Experts): 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
Arbitration Expert of the Year (Corporate INTL): 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
Best Mediator and Barrister (M&A Today): 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
Best Mediator and Barrister (Corporate America): 2023, 2021
Leaders in Law Award - 2023, 2021

Read the full list

Areas of expertise

Jonathan is an expert in employment law, dispute resolution (arbitration and mediation) and commercial contracts.

He is a recognised specialist in arbitration practice and procedure and is a Faculty Member at the London International Arbitration School.

He has been involved in a number of high-level reported cases in the courts, including: employment references, breach of directors duties, and the extent to which an arbitrator must disclose an interest in arbitration proceedings.

He previously worked on a landmark race discrimination case that was overturned on appeal. This resulted in a record £815,000 compensation awarded by the UK Supreme Court.

Employment law specialities:

Disciplinary procedures

Grievance and dismissals

Discrimination

TUPE

REDUNDANCY CONSULTATION, SELECTION AND IMPLEMENTATION

REPRESENTING CLIENTS AT EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS

Settlement negotiations and agreements

TRADE UNION/ MEMBERSHIP ASSOCIATION LAW

directors duties

Outside the office

When Jonathan isn’t working on legal cases, he’s likely driving a classic car, listening to the Stranglers, or watching Colchester United football club.

Born, bred, and based in North Essex, Jonathan has been a life-long supporter of Colchester United. He's a devout season ticket holder and rarely misses a match. Or as he would say: "Up the U's!"