Joanna Grant

“In Fenchurch Law, I was delighted to find a law firm that not only shared my ambition to level the playing field for policyholders but whose sole focus was to achieve that vision. I enjoy being part of a specialist, collegiate team with a shared vision and common goals.”

The firm’s UK Managing Partner, Joanna is a highly regarded policyholder side coverage specialist.  Joanna also leads Fenchurch Law’s Construction & Property Risks team, advising policyholders in high-value commercial coverage disputes relating to all types of property risks including under Commercial Property Policies and Building Defect Guarantee Policies. Her practice area includes a Financial & Commercial Risks element, in particular advising on Trade Credit and Warranty and Indemnity Policies. 

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 with one referee commenting that ‘Joanna Grant is a brilliant litigator. Tenacious, brilliant with the detail but never losing sight of the commercial objective. You would always want her on your team.’ 

The Lawyer magazine named Joanna as one of its Hot 100 for 2025, highlighting her role in several significant BI cases, including Hollywood Bowl and International Entertainment. Business Insurance selected Joanna as one of its 2024 Women to Watch, an award designed to celebrate women leaders in the insurance and risk management sector. Business Day gave Joanna top billing in its top ten list of ‘policyholder lawyers in UK 2023 providing substantial insurance influence’, referring to her as an “experienced insurance lawyer” whose expertise is “pivotal” in property-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 such as:

• World Challenge, a provider of overseas adventure travel programs, in a hard fought and hotly contested matter resulting in a resounding victory in July 2023. The matter was due to be heard in the Court of Appeal in 2024, before settling on commercial terms. The case made significant findings in relation to principles of estoppel.

• International Entertainment Holdings, a national theatre group, resulting in a Court of Appeal judgment in October 2024 which held that Covid can amount to an “incident” and which is now cited as an example of how the court’s approach the construction of insurance policies.

• Hollywood Bowl Group plc, a national chain of bowling alleys, with the court claim case-managed alongside a number of related claims advanced by policyholders against the insurer, Liberty. This case was listed by The Lawyer as one of its Top 10 Appeals of 2025. Hollywood Bowl settled its claim in advance of the Court of Appeal hearing.

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 insurance claims for the cost of replacing the ACM cladding and/or other defects. Following the issue of proceedings in one such claim, with a value in excess of £20 million, the insurers admitted liability and commercial settlement was achieved at mediation in 2023. Additionally further claims under the Building Safety Act 2022 (‘BSA 2022’) were pursued against third parties. Joanna also acts for developers and construction professionals with regard to the scope of cover under PI policies for fire safety related claims.

Joanna routinely acts on property damage and business interruption (‘BI’) claims arising under commercial policies. Recent highlights include acting for:

• A professional league football club, securing a favourable settlement for a in relation to storm damage.

• P&O Ferries in relation to damage to a pontoon that sank in adverse weather conditions. 

• A waste management plant in a complex, high-value matter involving significant business interruption losses caused by machinery damage.

Joanna joined Fenchurch Law in 2016 after 18 years at Allen & Overy, where she gained broad experience in complex multi-jurisdictional proceedings and arbitrations acting for financial institutions and global corporates, including advising policyholders on political risk, crime, and D&O policies.

Joanna graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA (Hons) degree in Oriental Studies and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, before completing her CPE and LPC. She is a member of the British Insurance Law Association, the Society of Construction Law and Women in Property.