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Trevor Asserson

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Trevor Asserson
Born (1956-11-26) November 26, 1956 (age 67)
Occupationlawyer

Trevor Asserson (born 26 November 1956) is a British lawyer specialising in litigation.[1][2][3][4][5] He is the founder and Senior Partner at Asserson Law Offices.[6][7]

A member of the Law Society, Asserson is active as a lawyer within the Jewish Community in the UK and Israel. He is based in Jerusalem, Israel.[8][9][4]

Early life and education

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Trevor Asserson was born in London to a Jewish family. His father was a businessman, and his mother was a writer and a broadcaster.[10] Asserson was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham, and University College School, London.[7][11] He was awarded an open scholarship to Queen's College, Oxford, where he read modern history, graduating in 1979 with a B.A. Whilst at Oxford, he was an editor of the university's Isis Magazine and won his oar in the college eights.[12]

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Trevor Asserson qualified as a UK solicitor in 1984,[13] going on to work in the litigation department of City Firm Herbert Smith,[14] and later joined Hodge, Jones & Allen, England's largest legal-aid law firm.[15] He set up and led HJ&A's Housing Law department, at the time, the largest in the UK, working principally for the homeless.[16]

Asserson moved to Israel in 1990, where he trained as a lawyer at Israel's premier law firm, Herzog Fox and Ne'eman, being called to the Israeli Bar in 1992.[17][16]

In 1993, upon returning to the UK, Asserson joined Bird & Bird, where he became the Global Head of International Litigation.[18][9][19][14][20] His clients included the UK government, other sovereign states, multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals.[21]

Asserson launched Asserson Law Offices (ALO) in 2005, providing UK legal services from an offshore location, ALO is now the largest foreign law firm in Israel.[19][22][2][23]

Since the 1990s, Trevor Asserson has been shortlisted as Litigator of the Year and consistently ranked as a leading litigator in international directories. He has been featured as 'Lawyer of the Week' in The Times, Chambers and Partners, and The Law Society Gazette.[24]

Landmark cases

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Trevor Asserson was the lead lawyer in Don King Productions Inc. v Warren (December 1998), a major dispute between the leading boxing promoters in the US and the UK.[13][25][1][26]

Representing King in this action, Asserson, a senior litigation partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, had previously acted for King during the prolonged court proceedings following the collapse of his business arrangement with British promoter Frank Warren, which culminated in a $12 million out-of-court settlement.[1]

In 2004, the New York Times reported that Asserson represented Rachel Ehrenfeld. Ehrenfeld's British distribution deal for her new book, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It", was canceled due to a legal threat from one of the Saudis she mentioned.[5]

In 2012, Asserson represented jailed Israeli solicitor Israel Perry concerning one of the largest cases ever brought by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), seeking to seize and gain disclosure of worldwide assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Asserson challenged both orders on jurisdiction grounds, referring to the "[very concerning] effect of this novel and far-reaching interpretation of UK law" on people who retain sensitive client information.[27] The matter went to the Supreme Court on two separate issues, where the UK Government was defeated 9–0 and 7–2 respectively.[28] Later, in a remarkable instance of the government utilizing its judicial power, the UK Government passed an amending law in attempt to reverse the Supreme Court result.[29] However, the claim was subsequently abandoned and damages paid to Perry.[30]

Asserson represented the Greek government's interest in Macedonia's largest oil refinery, in the case of Okta Crude Oil Refinery v Mamidoil-Jetoil Greek Petroleum Company, in 2003. The case led to various reported decisions, creating numerous precedents.[31]

In 2009, Asserson successfully defended Sonja Kohn, the main defendant in Madoff Securities International Ltd (MSIL) v Raven & Ors. The Madoff estate sought to recover from Kohn c.$59 billion arising out of introductions to the Madoff Ponzi scheme.[32][33] The Madoff estate paid legal costs on an indemnity basis.[3]

Asserson represented Adath Yisroel Burial Society (AYBS) in 2018, bringing three separate applications for judicial review against Mary Hassell, Senior Coroner for Inner North London, in what came to be known as the Coroner Case.[34][35] Hassell acted in a way that was discriminatory against the needs of the Muslim and Jewish communities.[4][24][36] The High Court found Hassell's practice to be "unlawful, irrational" and "discriminatory", and its ruling was hailed as a "victory by AYBS is a victory for the cause of diversity throughout British society."[37] Asserson was selected as Lawyer of the week in The Times for this work.[24]

Trevor Asserson was behind the claim that obtained the "largest ever sum recovered by a Human Rights Act claim", representing 18 claimants by launching a successful judicial review and Human Rights Act claim against the Department for Energy and Climate Change for losses stemming from earlier than expected cut in subsidies.[38][39]

Public activities

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In 2000, Asserson founded BBCWatch to analyze BBC media coverage of the Middle East.[40][41][42][43][44] Between 2000 and 2006, BBCWatch published six studies alleging the BBC's systematic bias against Israel.[10][45][46] Asserson appeared on public debates, TV, and radio, concluding that the 'BBC's coverage of the Middle East is infected by a widespread antipathy toward the country'.[47][43][48] BBC held a public inquiry into its Middle East coverage and created a senior editorial post to advise on its Middle East coverage.[7][40]

In 2008, Asserson released a report alleging that the BBC Arabic radio exhibited bias during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, favoring Iran and Hezbollah.[49] Asserson also acted for CAA in its claim against Bristol University, after prof. David Miller's conduct left Jewish students feeling "unsafe and unprotected."[50][51][52] As a result, the university launched an investigation which led the decision to terminate Miller's employment.[53]

In 2023 Trevor published a series of articles relevant to the public debate in Israel concerning potential Judicial reforms that threatened the independence of the Israeli courts.[54][55][56]

In 2023, Trevor Asserson launched a legal action against the BBC, accusing it of biased coverage of the Gaza conflict in violation of its editorial guidelines. He asserts that the BBC's report on an explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, initially blamed on Israel, typifies ongoing biased reporting. Asserson argues this reflects a systemic bias within the BBC that undermines its duty to impartiality.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Rawling, John (2004-01-27). "King to fight Lewis in high court". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  2. ^ a b Shemer, Nadav (2011-12-15). "British law makes aliya". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  3. ^ a b Croft, Jane (October 18, 2013). "Lawsuit against ex-directors of Madoff's London unit thrown out". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ a b c Sherwood, Harriet; correspondent, Harriet Sherwood Religion (2018-01-14). "Jewish society calls for removal of London coroner over burial delay". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-17. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b Lyall, Sarah (2004-05-22). "Are Saudis Using British Libel Law To Deter Critics?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ Heath, Lucie (2022-10-28). "Royals can do 'very little' to stop Harry printing his worst criticisms in memoir, lawyers say". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  7. ^ a b c Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (2011-01-27). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
  8. ^ a b Uni, Assaf (2023-11-29). "The British-Israeli lawyer holding the BBC to account". Globes. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  9. ^ a b "Trevor Asserson". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  10. ^ a b Levi-Weinrib, Ela (2017-05-16). "From Zion shall go forth the law - to London". Globes. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ "Rabbi Lawrence interviews Trevor Asserson - Kinloss | Finchley United Synagogue". www.kinloss.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  12. ^ "The Gower. University College School". ucs-digitalarchives.org.uk. 1975-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  13. ^ a b The Times, 1999, UK, English.
  14. ^ a b "Trevor Asserson". Shalem College. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  15. ^ The Legal 500: The Major Law Firms in England, Wales and Scotland. Legalease. 1999. ISBN 978-1-870854-39-9.
  16. ^ a b The Legal 500: The Major Law Firms in England, Wales and Scotland. Legalease. 1999. ISBN 978-1-870854-39-9.
  17. ^ "Lawyer list". israelbar.org.il. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  18. ^ The European Legal 500. Legalease Europe. 2004. ISBN 978-1-903927-27-4.
  19. ^ a b "A JEWISH TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER". www.jewishtelegraph.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  20. ^ "Bird & Bird lands Player for integration drive". Law.com International. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  21. ^ Lloyd's Law Reports. Lloyd's of London Press, Limited. 2003.
  22. ^ "Firm Profile: Asserson Law". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  23. ^ "Firm's advice on English law proves a hit in Israel". Law Gazette. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  24. ^ a b c Tsang, Linda (2024-05-16). "Lawyer of the week: Trevor Asserson". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  25. ^ "Boxing battle ends in an £8m payout". Irish Independent. 1999-01-14. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  26. ^ "Sport and the Law Journal" (PDF). britishsportslaw.com. 2004. ISSN 1353-0127. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  27. ^ "UK seeking millions from Israeli fraudster". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  28. ^ "No jurisdiction under Part 5 of POCA to make recovery order for property outside England and Wales (Supreme Court)". Practical Law. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  29. ^ Hollingsworth, Mark (2014-07-04). "Legal tables are turned as Israeli tycoon sues crime agency | The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  30. ^ Hollingsworth, Mark (11 January 2014). "National Crime Agency reins in attempts to seize tycoon Israel Perry's assets". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  31. ^ "Mamidoil-Jetoil Greek Petroleum Co SA v Okta Crude Oil Refinery AD" (PDF). nadr.co.uk. 2002. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  32. ^ Amon, Elizabeth (8 March 2012). "Citigroup, Olympus, ING, Madoff, News Corp. in Court News". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  33. ^ "Medici lawyer says Kohn didn't get Madoff payments". Reuters. July 3, 2009. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  34. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (2018-04-27). "Judge rules coroner's 'cab rank' policy discriminatory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  35. ^ "Adath Yisroel Burial Society & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v HM Senior Coroner for Inner North London [2018] EWHC 969 (Admin) (27 April 2018)". www.bailii.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  36. ^ Sugarman, Daniel. "Chief Coroner slams St Pancras senior coroner Mary Hassell's 'unlawful' burial policy". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  37. ^ Weich, Ben; Sugarman, Daniel (April 27, 2018). "Coroner Mary Hassell's burial policy 'unlawful, irrational and discriminatory'". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  38. ^ "Solar power settlement is "largest ever" Human Rights Act payment - Litigation Futures". litigationfutures.com. 2020-09-24. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  39. ^ "UK Government pay massive damages re FiT fisasco - News". Smart Solar. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  40. ^ a b "Is it possible to curb the extreme bias of the 'BBC'?". jns.org. October 7, 2020. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  41. ^ "Biased Broadcasting Corporation? - Globes". en.globes.co.il. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  42. ^ "Jewish leaders praise report on BBC". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2006-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  43. ^ a b Gerstenfeld, Manfred (2020-10-04). "Is It Possible to Curb the Extreme Bias of the BBC?". Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  44. ^ "BBC-monitoring site is launched". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  45. ^ "The BBC – a touch on the tiller". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2014-08-03. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  46. ^ Asserson, Trevor (January 15, 2004). "What Went Wrong at the BBC: A Public Monopoly Abusing Its Charter Through Bias Against Israel". jcpa.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  47. ^ "What Went Wrong at the BBC - Trevor Asserson". jcpa.org. 15 January 2004. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  48. ^ "Reactions to the BBC Report". HonestReporting. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  49. ^ Crystal, Meirav (2008-03-25). "Report accuses BBC of supporting Iran". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  50. ^ Jonathan (2021-10-01). "David Miller fired from University of Bristol one month after CAA commenced lawsuit against the University on behalf of brave Jewish students and amid pressure from Jewish community disgusted by his antisemitic conspiracies". Campaign Against Antisemitism. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  51. ^ Hall, Rachel (2021-10-01). "Bristol University sacks professor accused of antisemitic comments". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  52. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Academic calls Bristol JSoc 'Israel's pawn'". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  53. ^ "Bristol University: Professor David Miller sacked over Israel comments". 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  54. ^ "Are unelected judges undemocratic?". Globes. 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  55. ^ "Why we need reasonableness". Globes. 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  56. ^ "Reasonableness is not a judge's whim". Globes. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
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