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“Kind, responsive, and thoughtful. Puts juniors and clients first. And is helpful when it comes to advice and collegiality. (Administrative law and human rights)“ – Legal 500 2027

“She is legally incredibly smart, strategic, and savvy.” (Employment) – Legal 500 2027

“Schona is an extraordinary and diligent advocate. Her ability to distill complex legal and scientific issues is impressive. She has a deep knowledge base on European human rights, particularly equality law. Her oral advocacy is crisp and compelling. She is a pleasure to work with. (International human rights and criminal law)” – Legal 500 2027

“She's a leader at Silk in the area of Sports Law - her name is attached to leading cases that will go down in history. You want her on your team!” (Sport) – Legal 500 2027

"She really is keen in terms of client focus, that is her perennial concern: that client needs are met, that they are satisfied and that they will receive the best advice possible." (Civil Liberties & Human Rights) - Chambers & Partners 2027

"I could not have hoped for better counsel as to expertise, ability, commitment, dedication and good nature." (International Human Rights Law) - Chambers & Partners 2027

"She's a brilliant barrister who excellent at seeing what needs to be done strategically while never forgetting the purpose and the humanity to an objective. She's incredibly humane yet fearless with what she's doing and on top of that fantastically intellectual and technical. A go-to and always a pleasure to work with." (Civil Liberties & Human Rights) - Chambers & Partners 2027

"Schona is fantastic; she is articulate and clever." (Employment) - Chambers & Partners 2027

"Schona is a big hitter." "Schona's advocacy is absolutely impeccable." (Employment) - Chambers & Partners 2025

“Schona is at the top of her game. She is able to balance compassion and care with fearless advocacy. She gets to the core of an issue quickly and leads with unparalleled expertise in this area.” “Schona is fearless - a hands-on and details-oriented leader. She is a superb cross-examiner and an all-round great advocate.” - Legal 500 2025

Shortlisted for Employment Silk of the Year 2023 by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

"A force to be reckoned with." "Schona is astoundingly brilliant in her strategy, advice and advocacy. She prepares meticulously and leads her team brilliantly." “She is brilliant on her feet and a charming advocate who has a skilful cross-examination style.” -Chambers & Partners 2024

“A compelling advocate in court. She is fiercely intelligent, passionate and has an authoritative command of her brief.” “Schona slices through an issue with the highest of intellect. She is personable, collaborative, always sees the bigger picture and maps the best strategic approach with care and originality.” -Legal 500 2024

"She understands the need for progressiveness and matches the law exceptionally well to this - she is an amazing inspiration." "Schona is an exceptionally talented advocate.” - Chambers & Partners 2023

“Schona is a superb advocate and very skilled at dealing with challenges - she really gets results. Clients love working with her.” - Legal 500 2023

According to an article in The Lawyer magazine in 2019, Schona Jolly KC was one of “top 10” female silks appearing in the Court of Appeal.

Schona Jolly KC is renowned for her cutting-edge practice, working at the confluence of equality, human rights, employment, sports, constitutional and public international law. Schona is recognised as a leading silk, widely sought after for her strategic advice on litigation and policy. She has extensive experience in leading teams of lawyers in domestic and international litigation, as well as in all levels of court both in the UK and internationally. Her practice includes a number of “firsts” and novel points of law, including the consideration of legal accountability and technology/AI within her areas of practice. She is regularly instructed to lead teams in large-scale group litigation in which she specialises, acting for thousands of individuals.
Schona has developed a practice covering a broad range of international and EU law. She has wide-ranging experience in international law, including in respect of international courts and tribunals as well as UN Special Procedures. She advises and litigates in matters relating to public international law, including on state immunities and extraterritorial jurisdiction, violations of fundamental human rights (including on genocide and crimes against humanities), business and human rights, forced labour, minority rights and international sports disputes. Recently, she has successfully represented South African athlete Caster Semenya against Switzerland before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. She is now building her practice in international arbitration.
Her domestic employment work includes complex whistleblowing, and discrimination claims, as well as worker status cases and appellate work at all levels. She acts for, and advises, a range of (often high profile) individuals, corporations, civil society, and institutions. She most recently appeared in the UK Supreme Court, intervening in Wicked Vision v Rice. Her employment work intersects with her other specialisms, including on sports, human rights, international law and technology. She has been a longstanding Panel Counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and their predecessor organisations.
Her sports law work is both domestic and international, covering the full range of sports, with a particular focus on the equality, human rights and employment status of athletes and sportspeople, acting in domestic courts and arbitrations, the Court of Arbitration of Sport and international courts and tribunals. Her constitutional work has developed in particular over the last decade, and she has written and advised extensively about the impact of Brexit on domestic law.
Schona is experienced in conducting high-profile, complex and sensitive investigations and also as a mediator.
Schona was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the Athens Public International Law Centre in 2025/6. In 2024, she was appointed a Visiting Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford University and was a Research Visitor to the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Oxford. She has a strong policy and academic interest and expertise in foreign policy, rule of law and human rights. She is Head of both Cloisters Human Rights Practice Group and our International Practice Group. She was Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee from 2019-2021. She is also a Visiting Professor at Goldsmiths University, London. She is also an elected Bencher of Gray’s Inn.
She is a sought-after speaker on her specialist areas, and is regularly invited to give keynote lectures in universities and institutions around the world. She has given evidence to Parliamentary committees on her specialist subjects, including on international law, foreign policy and human rights. She writes widely in the national media, as well as academic journals. She has longstanding experience relating to the protection of journalists internationally, trial monitoring and she conducts regular human rights training in projects with governments and civil society across the world. She speaks several languages.
Shortlisted for Legal 500 Employment Silk of the Year 2026
Shortlisted for Legal 500 Sports Silk of the Year 2025
Shortlisted for Chambers & Partners UK Employment Silk of the Year 2024
Shortlisted for Legal 500 Employment Silk of the Year 2024
Shortlisted for International Bar Association Human Rights Lawyer of the Year 2021
Advocate Pro Bono Lawyer Award 2021
Shortlisted for The Lawyer Lawyer of the Year 2015
Legal 500 2027: “Kind, responsive, and thoughtful. Puts juniors and clients first. And is helpful when it comes to advice and collegiality. (Administrative law and human rights)“
Legal 500 2027: “She is legally incredibly smart, strategic, and savvy.” (Employment)
Legal 500 2027: “Schona is an extraordinary and diligent advocate. Her ability to distill complex legal and scientific issues is impressive. She has a deep knowledge base on European human rights, particularly equality law. Her oral advocacy is crisp and compelling. She is a pleasure to work with. (International human rights and criminal law)”
Legal 500 2027: “She's a leader at Silk in the area of Sports Law - her name is attached to leading cases that will go down in history. You want her on your team!” (Sport)
Chambers & Partners 2027: "She really is keen in terms of client focus, that is her perennial concern: that client needs are met, that they are satisfied and that they will receive the best advice possible." (Civil Liberties & Human Rights)
Chambers & Partners 2027: "I could not have hoped for better counsel as to expertise, ability, commitment, dedication and good nature." (International Human Rights Law)
Chambers & Partners 2027: "She's a brilliant barrister who excellent at seeing what needs to be done strategically while never forgetting the purpose and the humanity to an objective. She's incredibly humane yet fearless with what she's doing and on top of that fantastically intellectual and technical. A go-to and always a pleasure to work with." (Civil Liberties & Human Rights)
Chambers & Partners 2027: "Schona is fantastic; she is articulate and clever." (Employment)
Chambers & Partners 2025: "Schona does a really good job before the ECHR." (Civil Liberties & Human Rights) "Schona is one of the most hardworking and committed barristers at the bar." "Schona is a big hitter." "Schona's advocacy is absolutely impeccable." (Employment)
Legal 500 2025: “Schona is at the top of her game. She is able to balance compassion and care with fearless advocacy. She gets to the core of an issue quickly and leads with unparalleled expertise in this area.” (Administrative Law & Human Rights) “Schona is fearless - a hands-on and details-oriented leader. She is a superb cross-examiner and an all-round great advocate.” (Employment) “Schona is a delight to work with.” (Sport)
Chambers & Partners 2024: "Schona is astoundingly brilliant in her strategy, advice and advocacy. She prepares meticulously and leads her team brilliantly." "She is brilliant on her feet and a charming advocate who has a skilful cross-examination style.” "Schona's advocacy skills are extremely admirable, leaving her instructing solicitors and clients in awe. She methodically and systematically tackles the issues, while leaving very little room for rebuttal. She is a force to be reckoned with." "Very adept at thinking about how discrimination law applies in a developing context. A formidable person to have on your side, and clients really like her." "Schona is very impressive in her ability to digest and distil very complex facts."
Legal 500 2024: “A compelling advocate in court. She is fiercely intelligent, passionate and has an authoritative command of her brief.” “Schona slices through an issue with the highest of intellect. She is personable, collaborative, always sees the bigger picture and maps the best strategic approach with care and originality.” “Schona is a marvel to watch on her feet – quick-witted and able to deftly pivot according to the bench’s mood, while also being resilient and forceful when required. Her advice is always exceptional – structured and intelligent. Her tactical acumen is impressive.”
Chambers & Partners 2023: “Schona's pleadings and written work are extremely impressive." “She has a strong understanding of human rights and their application, and when there is no court to go to, finds strength in public advocacy." "She understands the need for progressiveness and matches the law exceptionally well to this - she is an amazing inspiration." "Schona is an exceptionally talented advocate.”
Legal 500 2023: “Schona is a superb advocate and very skilled at dealing with challenges - she really gets results. Clients love working with her.”
Chambers & Partners 2022: “She gets on top of the intricacies of the law and she is a skilful cross-examiner." "She wins over the tribunal with her style; she gets through what she needs to with a charming approach and she is a fearsome cross-examiner." "Schona is a keen intellect and a practical and yet creative thinker. She is a strong and unwavering advocate with in-depth knowledge and expertise of civil liberties and human rights with the domestic and ECHR frameworks."
Legal 500 2021: “She is fiercely intelligent and uses her formidable intellect to pursue the best practical outcome for her clients. A creative thinker, she is able to think outside the box to devise avenues of argument to get the best outcome.” “A deadly cross-examiner, she achieves things other silks simply can't pull off; her advocacy is very convincing and she is able to read the judge perfectly, knowing when to focus on a point and when to move on.”
Chambers & Partners 2021: "She has exceptionally good client management skills and draws on her experience with great aplomb." "She is an extraordinary legal brain and strategist who brings passion and diligence to a case." "She's very good at getting to grips with the detail quickly, is superb at cross-examination and her submissions are excellent."
Legal 500 2020: "A very impressive silk." "Excellent tactical acumen and highly responsive."
Chambers & Partners 2019: "Admired silk whose employment practice is bolstered by her human rights knowledge. She is a regular counsel for banking clients and trade unions, and was recently instructed in one of the leading gig-economy cases in the court system. She also handles complex discrimination claims." "Very good on her feet and excellent with clients."
Legal 500 2019: "A rare talent who approaches every challenge with an open mind." "Creative and unafraid to use innovative arguments."
Visiting Fellow at the Athens Public International Law Centre (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) 2025-
Bencher of Gray’s Inn, 2025-
Visiting Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford University, 2024
Research Visitor to the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Oxford University, 2024
Visiting Professor, Goldsmiths University, 2021-
Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales 2019-2021; (Advisory Board 2022-)
Head of Cloisters Human Rights group
Head of Cloisters International Law Practice Group
Council of JUSTICE 2014-2016
Memberships: ALBA, BHRC, Discrimination Law Association, Employment Law Association, ELBA, IBA, IBAHRI, JUSTICE, Lawyers for Liberty, Women in Sport, European Society of International Law
Member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission panel counsel
- Contributing author, Judicial Independence Under Threat: Edited by Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos and Yvonne McDermott (OUP/British Academy). ‘The Rule of Law Across the World: A system of crisis?’ (2022).
- Contributing author to OUP 'Equal Pay' (Introduction to EU law, Brexit and Equal) Pay.
- Contributing author to Sweet & Maxwell, 'Human Rights Practice' (on Article 9 ECHR).
- Contributor to 'Discrimination in Employment: A Claims Handbook', LAG, 2013.
- Co-author: Age Discrimination Handbook, LAG 2006 with Declan O'Dempsey and Andrew Harrop.
- 2004 co-author Consultation paper for Age Concern: Addressing Age Barriers: An international comparison of legislation against age discrimination in the field of goods, facilities and services.
- She frequently writes articles for professional publications, including European Human Rights Law Review and newspapers.
- She was a former associate editor of the European Human Rights Reports.
- Licence Special en droit Europeen, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
- BA Jurisprudence, Magdalen College, Oxford.
- Schona is legally fluent in French and also speaks high-level Spanish, Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi and has basic Arabic and Greek.
A selection across the range of some of her cases include:
- Caster Semenya v Switzerland (Grand Chamber, EcTHR) – international human rights, sports, discrimination.
- Buttet v UK (ECtHR) – Article 6 and Article 14 on the extent to which the law of state immunity can prevent nationals from bringing proceedings against their own governments in the UK.
- Liu & others v Norway (ECtHR) – Article 8 on the right of Taiwanese residents in Norway whose residency permits labelled them as coming from People's Republic of China.
- Wicked Vision v Rice & others (Protect Intervening) [2025] EWCA Civ 1466 (whistleblowing; intervention for Protect)
- (1) Timis (2) Sage v Osipov [2018] EWCA Civ 2321 (whistleblowing; acting for the intervenor Protect).
- Bou Simon v BGC Brokers LLP [2018] EWCA 1525 (Civ) (implied terms, breach of contract).
- Gillani and others v Veezu Ltd and others: [2025] EAT 97 ( disclosure and provision of information in group litigation)
- Broadbent & (approx. 10,000) others v Police Federation of England and Wales (age discrimination; group litigation) (Schona successfully acted for the Claimant police officers).
- Adams v Scottish Police Federation (age discrimination; group litigation).
- Multiple gig economy worker status/discrimination claims as part of gig economy group litigation including Veezu, Deliveroo riders, Stuarts and others).
- Moyer Lee and others v Cofely Workplace Ltd UKEAT/0058/15 (meaning of "undertaking" in ICE Regulations/Directive - employment).
- US v Dr Nagarwala - amicus brief in US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (FGM, international human rights, discrimination).
- Smailes v Clewer Court Residents Ltd (Case No: B02BS101) (housing and premises, disability and equality).
- X v Governing Body of a School (2015) UKUT 0007 (AAC) (education/equality).
- Kemeh v MOD [2014] EWCA Civ 91 (agency, discrimination, employment).
- Carol Howard v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis London Central Employment Tribunal, 30 June 2014, 1st September 2014 (discrimination/employment).
- Jivraj v Hashwani [2011] UKSC 40, Supreme Court (status of arbitrators, discrimination, human rights, commercial).
- Bikramjit Singh v France (2012) UN Human Rights Committee and ECtHR.