I am Jonathan Wright, and DBS work is all I do
I qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and spent nearly ten years in London defending complex business crime and fraud. I then moved to Richard Nelson LLP, became an equity partner, and set up and ran the firm’s DBS department.
What I kept seeing there was the same thing. People whose entire working life was about to end had almost nowhere to turn for genuinely specialist advice, and the little that existed was priced well beyond the reach of the care workers, teaching assistants and foster carers who needed it most.
So in 2021 I left and started JJW Legal, deliberately without the overheads of a traditional firm, so that I could do the same standard of work for a fraction of what it would otherwise cost. Since then I have won 151 cases, and every one of them is published on this site.
Alongside DBS work I have more than twenty years in regulatory investigations by the Insolvency Service, HM Revenue and Customs, the Financial Conduct Authority and Trading Standards, and in directors’ disqualification proceedings.
- Former Law Society Council member
- Association of Regulatory Lawyers (ARDL)
- Qualified since 1997
What to expect
You deal with me
The solicitor who answers your first call is the one who reads your papers and writes your representations. You are not passed to anyone.
DBS work is what I do
This is not a sideline of a general practice. It is the practice, which is why I know how the DBS weighs a case and what actually shifts it.
Plain English
You will be told clearly where you stand, what is likely to happen next, and what it will cost, before you commit to anything.
Fixed fees, and no VAT
Every fee is agreed in advance. JJW Legal is not VAT registered at present, so unlike most specialists in this field there is nothing to add.
Complete confidentiality
Everything you tell me is confidential and protected by legal privilege. Nothing is shared with your employer or regulator.
The same person throughout
Whoever deals with your first enquiry stays your point of contact until the matter is finished.
What clients say
“Very professional, and within no time they sorted my case with great results. I definitely recommend it to anyone who has issues with DBS. Reliable, friendly, and the professionalism of Jonathan is outstanding. I cannot recommend him enough.”
“He was quick to get involved, face to face, and explain complex legal situations and options in a straightforward, calm manner. He is a safe pair of hands and a reassuring presence in a crisis.”
How JJW Legal works
Including the question I am asked most, which is what JJW Legal actually is.
No. JJW Legal is not a solicitors firm and is not itself regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It is an unregulated legal practice carrying out non-reserved legal services.
All advice is given by qualified solicitors who are regulated by the SRA on an individual basis, and your discussions carry the same legal privilege they would anywhere else. Any service that does amount to a reserved legal activity is carried out through an SRA regulated firm by a solicitor.
You get the same work from the same kind of solicitor, for less. A traditional firm carries compliance costs, support staff and premises, and those costs end up in your bill. JJW Legal does not carry them, and is not VAT registered at present, which is why the fees are significantly lower than the established firms working in this field.
You can. But unless you have experience of communicating with a regulator during an investigation, I would always suggest getting specialist advice first, even if you then do the work yourself. The DBS applies specific risk criteria, and a response that does not engage with them rarely succeeds however sincere it is.
As soon as you know you have been referred, or that an investigation is under way. Investigations take months, every communication with the regulator counts, and the evidence that helps you is easiest to gather early.
A solicitor is a legally trained professional who advises and represents clients. Two things matter in this context. Your conversations are protected by legal privilege, and a solicitor is duty bound to act in your best interests at all times.
Nothing. The initial consultation is free, normally up to thirty minutes, and can be extended at the solicitor's discretion. You are under no obligation to instruct me afterwards.
Talk to me before you reply to anything
The first conversation is free and it costs you nothing to find out where you stand. Whatever you have been sent, I have almost certainly seen it before.