Jonathan Ellis

Secretariat Advisors, LLC

Singapore www.secretariat-intl.com

jellis@secretariat-intl.com Tel: +65 62259600

Biography

Jonathan Ellis is a managing director with Secretariat and is based in Singapore. He specialises in the quantification of damages and valuations, in particular in dispute contexts. He has testified on many occasions, in both court and arbitration proceedings, undertaken expert determinations and has been engaged as a tribunal appointed expert.

Describe your career to date.

Having done a masters in accounting and management science, I started looking at forensic accounting as a potential career. I was fortunate enough to get a role in the forensic accounting group of a global consultancy firm, gaining my accounting qualification while focusing on a mixture of damages assessment and investigations. In 2012 I moved to the valuations team of a big four accounting firm and, while still focusing on contentious matters, I was fortunate enough to also spend time providing noncontentious valuation advice. In 2015, I made the move to Singapore to set up the office of a boutique advisory firm. Finally, in 2020, I moved to Secretariat to expand their economic damages capabilities in Asia.

What do you enjoy most about working in advisory and dispute resolution services?

The work and the people! I find the diversity in work means that I am constantly developing and learning. Additionally, the people that I work with are great, the array of high-quality experts and brilliant junior staff across the globe mean that working on projects is a mix of being intellectually challenged and also good fun.

What is the philosophy behind your approach as an arbitration expert witness?

That you are truly there to assist the tribunal with its decision-making process. Given my formative training was in England, where you are very mindful of an expert’s duty to the court (ie, CPR 35), it has not been hard to bring this to arbitrations. This philosophy manifests itself in many different ways, but you are constantly thinking how best to present analysis and conclusions to help the tribunal make the required decisions – ensuring you set out your assumptions clearly and (if appropriate) what happens if these assumptions change.

How is AI and technological developments affecting the analyses you conduct? How do you anticipate it will affect analyses moving forward?

I have not been fortunate enough to see or use any AI in matters I have been engaged in. Given that tribunals like to be able to understand analysis, I still think that there is a role of an expert to explain (and support) their analysis. For technological developments, I have seen a marked increase in the use of digital infrastructure in hearings (ie, electronic bundles and demonstrable exhibits), this changes how I present work, allowing for more dynamic use of graphics. I am a fan of this and enjoy using them to assist the tribunal to understand the concepts which we are engaging with.

How has your previous experience as vice chairman of the energy and natural resources special interest group at ICAEW enhanced your current work?

I have always had an interest in energy and natural resources, my appointment was a culmination of years of rather large cases focused in this space. Rather than the experience as the vice chair, it is more the experience that got me there that I bring to my current engagements. Since then, I have also extended my focus to renewable energy, an area that has been (and will continue to be) very prominent for disputes.

As a managing director at Secretariat, what are your main priorities for the firm’s development over the next couple of years?

As the world opens up again, ensuring that we are able to reconnect with clients and continue to bring quality work to their dispute resolution processes.

Looking back over your career, what has been your proudest achievement?

This is a tough question, over my career there have been lots of achievements which I am proud of, both on a professional and personal level. Generally, I prefer to look to the future and make sure that I continue to deliver good quality work – hopefully the proudest achievement(s) are yet to come!

Peers and clients say: “He is very good at expressing himself, both verbally and in writing” “Jonathan is charming, calm and collected” “He has done a fabulous job for us in the past”