Joe McManus

Partner | London, United Kingdom
Get in touch

Profile

Joe qualified as a solicitor in Belfast in 1988 and has worked in London since then requalifying in England and Wales in 1990. He became a partner in 1997.

Joe and his team provide advice and support to insurers and businesses facing high value injury cases particularly in the construction industry. He has a special interest in harassment and stress cases and has represented a number of banks, professional service companies and insurers that have had to defend these claims. More recently Joe has represented a number of insurers dealing with high value claims arising from accidents abroad.  Joe successfully represented the defendants in 2017 in the Supreme Court in the case of Brownlie v Four Seasons Holdings Incorporated following a multiple fatality in Egypt.

Joe co-authored the environmental claims chapter in the latest edition of Kennedys’ Claims Handling Law and Practice Guide which was published in February 2021.

He has also written for the Post Magazine, one of the leading magazines in the Insurance Industry

Joe is a member of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL).

Qualifications:

  • Qualified in Belfast in 1988.
  • Qualified in England and Wales in 1990.
Joe McManus ‘is a tremendous asset in every case’, with particular strength in cases which have coverage and jurisdictional
The Legal 500 UK 2024

Related articles

Article

Personal Injury Brief: Latest decisions - July 2025

09/07/2025

Article

The Third Parties (Rights Against) Insurers Act 2010: Practical Implications on Employer’s Liability and Public Liability Claims 8 years later

23/09/2024

News

Kennedys team recognised in The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom 2025

20/06/2024

View more

Market recognition

  • Recognised in Best Lawyers UK for ‘Personal Injury Litigation' 
    Best Lawyers UK 2024
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)'
    "Joe McManus ‘is a tremendous asset in every case’, with particular strength in cases which have coverage and jurisdictional".
    The Legal 500 UK 2024
  • Nominated by respondents for delivering outstanding service in the last 12 months 
    The Gracechurch London Market Insurance Law Monitor 2023
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)' 
    The Legal 500 UK 2023
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)'
    "Other key contacts include 'class act' Joe McManus."
    The Legal 500 UK 2022
  • Leading Individual and recommended lawyer for 'Personal injury: Defendant (London)'
    "Joe McManus, who handles catastrophic injury claims, and whose frequent involvement with coverage and jurisdiction issues exemplifies the firm's 'excellent handling of complex international litigation'."
    The Legal 500 UK 2021
  • “He tends to give me the information I need and gets good results.”
    The Gracechurch London Market Insurance Law Report 2019
  • Recommended Lawyer for 'Personal injury: defendant (London)'
    The Legal 500 UK 2018/19
  • Recommended Lawyer described as “Approachable, effective and resolute”
    The Legal 500 UK 2017

Awards

Work highlights

  • Joe acted for MNS Mining following the deaths of 4 of its staff and injuries to three other at the Gleison Colliery in South Wales on 15 September 2011. The incident was the largest loss of life in the mines in the UK for over 30 years. It led to the largest corporate manslaughter case under the new 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act to date
  • Joe is currently representing the employers and insurers following the death of 5 staff in a major incident in the Midlands on the 7 July 2016
  • Joe represented the Hotel group and Insurers in the leading authority of Brownlie v Four Seasons Holdings Incorporated decided by the Supreme Court in December 2017 and which is the key authority for injuries sustained abroad (Link to firm article currently being uploaded or alternatively include the Supreme Court link).
  • Joe is representing insurers involved in an explosion at the Carlsberg bottling factory in Northampton  that left one person dead and 22 injured  and led to the plant been closed
  • Joe is currently assisting insurers and the local authority who were involved in a motor accident where a young children has sustained a catastrophic injury.  The claim is currently valued at £24 million. The approach being followed is a collaborative one.

Services

Sectors