Joanna Grant

The firm’s UK Managing Partner, Joanna is a highly regarded policyholder side coverage specialist. Joanna qualified as a solicitor in 2000 and spent 16 years at a magic circle law firm before joining Fenchurch Law in 2016. Over the course of the last decade she has built a successful practice advising policyholders in high-value commercial coverage disputes relating to all types of risks.

She is recommended by Chambers & Partners, where she is individually ranked for representing policyholders in insurance disputes and is recognised by Legal 500 as a leading individual. Legal 500 says that “Joanna Grant is a standout insurance expert, and has appeared in pretty much every piece of major insurance litigation in the last 5 years, typically on the winning side.” According to Chambers’ testimonials, “Joanna is sensational. She is amazing on the detail and one of the rare people who can also see the big picture. She is absolutely someone you want on your side.”; and “Joanna is an outstanding insurance lawyer. She is consistently excellent on all fronts, including legal support, responsiveness and managing the client.”

As part of the firm’s leadership team, Joanna has played a role in supporting the firm’s international expansion. In addition to her managerial responsibilities, and in line with her focus on the built environment, Joanna’s team advises policyholders in high-value commercial coverage disputes relating to all types of construction and property risks including under Construction All Risks (“CAR”), Commercial Property and Building Defect Guarantee policies.

Joanna has particular experience in combustible cladding cases, advising building owners, managing agents and groups of leaseholders with interests in high-rise buildings in respect of claims for the cost of replacing the ACM cladding and/or other defects. Joanna also acts for developers and construction professionals with regard to the scope of cover under PI policies for fire safety related claims.

A significant part of Joanna’s caseload in recent years relates to Covid-19 (‘Covid’) BI claims, she successfully recovered amounts considerable in excess of £100m+ for her policyholder clients which include large commercial organisations and household names.

Joanna has acted on some of the market’s most significant Covid-19 business interruption disputes, including advising the UK’s largest pub group on its £1 billion claim arising from the pandemic. Her experience also includes acting for a leading provider of overseas adventure travel programmes in proceedings that were due to be heard by the Court of Appeal before settling on commercial terms, advising a national theatre group in a landmark claim that proceeded to the Court of Appeal, and representing a major leisure operator in a substantial coverage dispute that settled shortly before a high-profile appeal hearing.

Joanna also advises developers, property owners, contractors and commercial policyholders in relation to a wide range of construction and property-related insurance disputes. She has acted for a national developer on professional indemnity coverage for fire safety claims, secured a recovery under a latent defects warranty policy on behalf of leaseholders of a high-rise residential building, and recovered insurance proceeds for the owner of a heritage property following the partial collapse of the building.

Her recent experience further includes securing a favourable settlement for a professional football club following storm damage and advising the owner of a waste management facility in a complex, high-value claim involving substantial business interruption losses arising from machinery damage.