Hugh Jackson

Hugh is a commercial chancery practitioner. He practised for 43 years at the Bar (including as a founder of Hardwicke Building (now Gatehouse Chambers) and later (2002) founder member of Selborne Chambers, his practice centring on land and finance, trade, business and technology.

He achieved accreditation as a mediator in 2010 with the former ADR Chambers and was thereafter retained for representation as a barrister-mediation-representative in many successful professional negligence claims – a field in which is he is very well known in practice, having been extensively instructed by financial institutions of many different types in relation to loss recovery actions. He achieved successful outcomes in many high value cases through litigation process then mediation. Being retained in professional negligence claims almost exclusively for Claimants, he has been being pitted against the leading silks and senior juniors from the established insurances sets – 4 New Square, Hailsham Chambers and Crown Office Chambers in particular.

He is qualified as an arbitrator and a long-standing Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

He sits also as a judge of the First Tier Tribunal, Property Chamber, Land Registration, having been appointed in 2008. In the latter role he has been appointed by the Principal Judge of the Tribunal as a Judicial Mediator in numerous real property disputes referred to that Tribunal by the Chief Land Registrar. He is also a member of the European Judges Group for Mediation (Gemme).

He was admitted as a Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council in 2024.

In 2025 he successfully completed a number of cutting-edge professional negligence claims in which he was retained, and has now moved his practice entirely to that of a mediator in commercial and real property disputes, with particular emphasis on professional negligence in land-related transactions.

Arbitration

Hugh has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for many years.

Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery

Hugh has extensive experience of claims involving civil fraud and accessory liability, including related freezing-order injunctive relief.

Mediation

Hugh has been an accredited mediator since 2010. He is frequently retained to act as a mediator in chancery and commercial disputes. His mediation style is open, direct and evaluative but non-confrontational, driving for the parties to achieve commercial resolution.

Mediations can be face to face at a venue of the parties’ choosing or by Zoom or Teams. Selborne’s clerking team administers Hugh’s mediation practice – please call for any guidance needed.

Professional Negligence

Hugh has some 33 years of experience in professional negligence litigation and the associated professional indemnity insurance issues, having acted in much of the lender-litigation over that time. He has particular skills with borrower and solicitor fraud and the related insurance coverage issues in that particular field. He has been retained to act for many institutional and secondary lenders, and operators in short-term secured and unsecured finance. He has been consulted by solicitors in relation to PI claims received.

He has also successfully acted in private client claims for professional negligence, including claims relating to negligent tax advice, audit error and data breach.

Recent Notable Work

Recent work includes:

H v C (2025) – mediating in a complex tri-partite rights of way dispute
L v B (2025) – mediating in an adverse possession dispute
M v H (2025) – mediating in an adverse possession dispute
M v M (2025) – mediating in an easements dispute
D v D (2025) – mediating in an estates dispute
B v Y (2025) – mediating in a ’54 Act dispute
P v K (2025) – commercial valuation negligence in PBSA development
S v J (2025) – commercial valuation negligence in high spec residential development
Re C (2024) – mediating in a director’s misappropriation claim
B v H (2024) – mediating in a rights of way dispute
Re C Cricket Club – mediating in a beneficial interest dispute
B v B (2024) – tax advisor’s negligence
D v R (2024) – mediating in adverse possession claim
M v O (2024) – adverse possession in leasehold flats
P v K (2023) – commercial professional negligence concerning an option on development land
M v R (2023) – solicitors’ professional negligence in the conduct of litigation
Re M (2020) – expropriation of shareholder’s rights in a listed plc
B v B (2019) – disputed dissolution of partnership on transfer of business to a company
Re A (2019) – damages for negligent publication of personal data
Re CLF (2019) – professional negligence in commercial lending
Re Q (2019) – strike out for abusive delay
Re B (2019) – planning agent’s negligence as to a wind farm
Re I Ltd (2018) – pre-action disclosure in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court concerning a web services business
Re W (2018) – appeal re strike out for abusive delay
Re A Ltd (2018) – disputed fire damage insurance claim
Re F (2018) – loss recovery for solicitor’s breach of fiduciary duty
Re CF Ltd (2018) – claim for success fees in fund-raising for app services provider
Re a C. Co. Ltd (2018) LCIA arbitration, leading a junior member of chambers – minority shareholder’s claims for breaches of a shareholders’ agreement, articles of association and the Companies Act 2006, and for relief from unfair prejudice relating to a cloud services business
Re a H. Co. Ltd (2018) minority shareholders’ claims for unfair prejudice
Re P – claims arising out of alleged mismanagement of liquidations
B v B – architect and planning consultant’s negligence
Mishcon de Reya v Hunt (2017) – resisting claim for breach of retainer relating to a bankrupt estate
Shepherd v Byrne & Partners LLP (2017) – leading in a claim for adviser’s negligence as to disclosure to HMRC of income
Earnshaw v Prudential Assurance Co Ltd (2017) – duties owed by pensions administrator to trustees of scheme

Recommendations

Hugh has been ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers’ Guides as a leading junior for many years, earning accolades such as “impressive junior” and as “extremely detail-oriented, forensic in fact, and nothing escapes him. When we have a tricky problem, that’s when he’s in his element.” “He is very thorough, very bright, thinks up good arguments and doesn’t miss points”

In the Legal 500 he is ranked as a leading junior barrister in Tier 2 for Professional Negligence.

Mediation CV Arbitration CV