Three new tenants for Brick Court

16/07/18

Brick Court Chambers is delighted to announce that three new tenants will join chambers after completing pupillage: Tom Wood later in July, and Matthew Kennedy and Jonathan Scott in September.

Mark Howard QC, Joint Head of Chambers, said: “We warmly welcome Tom, Matthew and Jonathan to chambers following the successful completion of their pupillages.  I have no doubt they will develop commensurately distinguished practices in the future."  

Tom Wood previously practised as an associate and solicitor advocate at Herbert Smith Freehills in London, specialising in commercial litigation, arbitration, and civil fraud. Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, he worked as a judicial assistant to the Commercial Court and Chancery Division, and was seconded to BP Legal Dispute Resolution. In 2015-16, Tom was judicial assistant to Lord Wilson and Lord Hodge at the Supreme Court. As a student, Tom studied music at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was awarded the top first in his year and won the University Gibbs prize. He then converted to law, achieving distinctions in the GDL and LPC. During pupillage, Tom has worked on commercial, public, and EU-law matters, including a Supreme Court appeal on the law of negligent misstatement, a judicial review of a healthcare policy, and an appeal concerning the EU abuse of law principle. He received the Lord Reid Senior Scholarship from Gray’s Inn, and a Phoenicia Scholarship from the Bar European Group.

Matthew Kennedy graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class honours degree in history.  Matthew also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law, with Distinction, from City, University of London and an LLM from the University of Cambridge, graduating third in his class.  Before coming to the Bar, Matthew worked in the international arbitration group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, specialising in commercial and investment arbitration.  During his time at WilmerHale, Matthew acted for and advised major corporate clients from a range of industries, including financial services, energy and pharmaceuticals.  Whilst at WilmerHale, Matthew also provided pro bono assistance to the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) in human rights cases before both the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.

Jonathan Scott 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. Before coming to the Bar, Jonathan worked for two years at a currency risk management firm, where he was part of a team responsible for analysing and improving the firm’s currency derivative investment strategies. He also co-authored a book chapter on investing in emerging market currencies. During pupillage, Jonathan worked on cases across all of chambers’ core practice areas. These included commercial cases in litigation and arbitration, follow-on and standalone competition damages claims, two preliminary references to the CJEU on fundamental rights issues, and an appeal to the Supreme Court on patent infringement.