Employment in Regional Bar

Employment

Leading Silks

Paul Gilroy QC - 9 St John Street ‘Strengths: Very good manner in court. A very skilful and strategic advocate. Excellent team player. Very good value for money and client focussed. Incisive and very good at picking out the key points. Has an excellent presentation style. A skilled negotiator with strong commercial acumen. First class knowledge of everything football related.’

Simon Gorton QC - Atlantic Chambers ‘His subject knowledge is a given but where he makes the biggest difference is with his tactical awareness and cross examination skills. His focus on the claims and issues is relentless and he makes the most complex issues seem straight forward.’

2019 Silks

Nicholas Siddall QC - Littleton Chambers ‘Nick is superb - his warmth and personability are great assets for this work type. He is decisive, does not sugar coat and is not afraid to tell a client how it is. He is unflappable and very good on his feet. His unfailing availability and collaborative nature make him a delight to work with.’

Leading Juniors

James Boyd - Kings Chambers ‘Strengths - Very approachable and down to earth, communicates in an effective way for his audience.’

Martin Budworth - Kings Chambers ‘Excellent on his feet, very direct and cuts through the issues so that clients have absolute clarity on the strengths and weaknesses of their case or position. Always relieved when Martin is available on a tricky case.’

Steven Flynn - Kings Chambers ‘Steve is very knowledgeable of the sports sector, and extremely user friendly. He is contactable at all times, day or night and can put clients at ease in an instant in even the most stressful of cases.’

Catherine Knowles - Exchange Chambers ‘Catherine is a particularly thorough and efficient advocate, who we know we can rely on to perform and achieve good results.’

Edward Morgan - 9 St John Street ‘Excellent with clients, a brilliant strategic and tactical mind; has the ability to think outside of the box and utilise innovative strategies to achieve the right result. Tenacious and inexhaustible. My number one go-to guy.’

Anisa Niaz-Dickinson - Kings Chambers ‘Anisa provides consistently clear and succinct advice breaking down extremely complex employment law concepts into a manner that is easy for clients and solicitors alike to understand and offers pragmatic solutions in order to progress cases to a successful conclusion. As such, her client care is exceptional as is her attention to detail. She has an effective cross examination style.’

Daniel Northall - Littleton Chambers ‘Excellent advocacy style. Hard working - commits significant time/effort to preparation which shows at hearing. Understands he is part of a team with the client.’

Assunta Del Priore - 9 St John Street ‘Diligent, focused and great with clients.’

Louise Quigley - 9 St John Street ‘Louise Quigley demonstrates great attention to detail and can get to grips with complex cases very quickly. She is tenacious in court and good with clients in conference. Louise handled a difficult multi-day Employment Tribunal case for one of my corporate clients recently and the client was extremely impressed.’

Jason Searle - St John's Buildings ‘Jason always displays an air of calmness and confidence, which reassures clients and puts them at ease. He is adept at identifying the key issues and evidence in complex and paper-heavy cases. Very approachable and technically good, Jason is a team player and someone you want to have on your side.’

Amy Smith - 9 St John Street ‘Strengths - extremely thorough and well prepared; clear and articulate in presenting a case; approachable, personable and can build trust with a client very quickly.’

Helen Trotter - Kings Chambers ‘A superbly analytical mind, and a determined advocate - she is persuasive beyond measure.’

Rachel Wedderspoon - 9 St John Street ‘Rachel is not afraid to give positive advice and will rarely sit on the fence. Aside from being highly adept in applying the law to the facts, and picking up the key issues quickly, Rachel does an excellent job in tailoring her tone and approach to inspire confidence in the client/witness. An excellent cross-examiner and completely unflappable.’

Lena Amartey - 9 St John Street ‘Impressive and always in demand for her ability to cut through issues, dynamic cross examination and strong submissions.’

Carlo Breen - 9 St John Street ‘Carlo is very knowledgeable and offers practicable advice. He is particularly very good at calming clients nerves. He shows empathy and support. A fantastic legal brain and hard-working.’

David Campion - 9 St John Street ‘David is able to grasp the full details of a case very quickly and to quickly analyse the pros and cons of the different approaches which are available. His knowledge of the Employment Tribunal process is second to none, which is hugely beneficial to clients and instructing solicitors in understanding how a claim and subsequent hearing is likely to unfold.’

Paul Draycott - Doughty Street Chambers ‘Quickly grasps the key issues in a case.’

Paras Gorasia - Doughty Street Chambers ‘Paras is a leading practitioner who is highly knowledgeable and committed to his field. His advice and approach are concise and commercial, which are what our clients want. Above all, he is incredibly personable and I would not hesitate to recommend him to any client. Client feedback is consistently 100% positive.’

Laura Gould - Kings Chambers ‘Laura is excellent counsel. She is extremely good technically, is a very talented advocate and builds excellent relationships with clients. Laura grasps issues quickly and is commercially focused. She also does not sit on the fence and gives a firm view.’

Nigel Grundy - 9 St John Street ‘An extremely thorough and technical advocate.’

James Hurd - 9 St John Street ‘Recent work includes defending against disability discrimination and stress at work claims.’

Sarah Johnson - Kenworthy's Chambers ‘Sarah is a very astute and knowledgeable barrister who is always well prepared and tactically knows the ropes and is someone you can always rely upon.’

Ben Williams - Kings Chambers ‘Ben is extremely client friendly, he is down to earth but inspires great confidence from clients. Ben is commercial and pragmatic but recognises and supports matters of principle. He is dynamic, strategic and straight talking in cross examination. Ben is particularly strong at understanding the dynamic between client, instructing solicitor and counsel.’

David Flood - St John's Buildings ‘Especially good with lay clients.’

Anette Gumbs - St John's Buildings ‘Recommended for discrimination and whistleblowing cases.’

Bruce Henry - Kenworthy's Chambers ‘Strengths include ready and speedy accessibility for instructing solicitor and a very practical and realistic approach to finding the best solution for clients. Exceptionally good with clients and provides clear and incisive advice. Also, always very well prepared and advocacy style is very well tailored to the ET - tough but always appropriate in advocacy style.’

Jamie Jenkins - St John's Buildings ‘Jamie is always my first choice when instructing a barrister. He has an incredible knowledge of employment law and Employment Tribunal practice and procedure. He has obtained outstanding results for me, even in borderline cases. He is also very friendly and approachable and is able to inspire confidence in clients which is very important for an instructing solicitor.’

Ghazan Mahmood - St John's Buildings ‘An excellent advocate, tenacious, as committed to cases as the clients, clients are without exception always pleased to have had him on their side and grateful for his efforts, excellent on his feet.’

Rising Stars

Rosie Kight - Kings Chambers ‘I enjoy working with Rosie as she is incredibly down to earth and approachable. She combines such traits with an obvious diligence and work ethic, to give the sense that she is very much part of the team and keen to help however she can in terms of promoting the client's cause. She appears unflappable and willing to go the extra mile to get the job done.’

Thomas Wood - St John's Buildings ‘Incredibly smart, practical and down to earth with clients. A lovely wit that helped lighten the often tense atmosphere whilst waiting at tribunal! Excellent client care skills and builds trust from the moment of meeting. Highly recommended.’

Atlantic Chambers

'Professional and approachable' set Atlantic Chambers includes the 'down to earth and approachable' Simon Gorton QC, whose employment practice includes both tribunal cases and court appeals, including to the very highest levels, with a focus of late on whistle-blowing cases. Instructing solicitors praise him for his 'ability to explain complex legal situations simply which my clients find very helpful' and for his. 'superb advocacy, Simon is a very good advocate and retains composure and charm during difficult and lengthy cases'.

Doughty Street Chambers

At Doughty Street Chambers in Manchester, the set's members are particularly known for their expertise in high value and complex discrimination claims. Paul Draycott has particular specialisms in whistleblowing, TUPE, and discrimination claims and has also handled a number of cases concerning the interplay of the criminal law and employment law. Also of note, Paras Gorasia, working with local advocates, advised on the Manx Sutton v Creechurch Capital case in the Isle of Man, in which a whistleblower was awarded compensation of around £600,000, a sum thought to be a jurisdiction record. Instructing solicitors are full of praise for 'the friendly barrister' Gorasia: 'First and foremost, Paras is an excellent team player. For instructing solicitors, the fact he always makes himself available at short notice to review a document or provide input, or just to give his view, is priceless and makes him stand out from others.'

Exchange Chambers

Active on the Northern Circuit, Exchange Chambers' 'thorough and efficient advocate' Catherine Knowles is primarily instructed by respondents in the public sector, including government departments, local authorities, and NHS Trusts, across the full spectrum of employment issues, with a particular focus on claims involving allegations of discrimination and whistleblowing. She successfully appeared for the revenue in Wareing v The Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs, an action by the claimant alleging their employer had failed to comply with a duty to make reasonable adjustments; all claims were dismissed following a four-day hearing.

Kenworthy's Chambers

'A great set that has improved its strength in depth in recent years', Kenworthy's Chambers employment team includes the 'experienced and diligent' Bruce Henry and the 'very astute' Sarah Johnson. Henry represents trade union members in a wide spectrum of employment matters in both employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Recent instructions of note include successfully acting for a claimant in a claim for discrimination arising from disability when a job offer was withdrawn from the applicant. Johnson has substantial experience in employment and discrimination law and, in particular, equal pay cases involving the NHS.

Littleton Chambers

Littleton Chambers' employment law reach extends from its home base in London to the North West of England with 'superb' 2019 silk Nicholas Siddall QC and the 'hard-working' Daniel Northall. In recent instructions of note, Siddall QC acted for the claimant in Lyons v Derwent Holdings Limited, a multi-million-pound High Court case that would consider the Isle of Man test for whistleblowing and the extent to which this differs from the UK Test. In another potential multi-million-pound claim, Northall has been representing the founder, chief executive, and managing director of a care company who, following external investment, alleges they were forced from their posts and removed as directors to allow investors to take control of the company.

Tier 1 sets

9 St John Street

'A first port of call when seeking counsel in employment matters' in Manchester, 9 St John Street's team covers the full spectrum of contentious and all aspects of non-contentious employment law work. Paul Gilroy QC is considered to be approachable, user-friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable in the world of sports and employment law. 'He balances technical expertise with a common-sense approach that clients really value'. Fielding a strong bench of junior counsel, the set is particularly well-connected in the public sector, with the 'tenacious and inexhaustible' Edward Morgan, in particular, handling a number of cases in the NHS context. In recent instructions of note, 'excellent cross-examiner' Rachel Wedderspoon represented a solicitor who brought a sex discrimination claim against her former firm, while 'fantastic advocate, who is great with clients' Louise Quigley represented a private sector respondent in an unusual case where the claimant alleges her dismissal was orchestrated as her husband, the company's CEO, was dismissed for fraud.

Tier 2 sets

Kings Chambers

Kings Chambers is 'able to offer a credible alternative to London sets, even for the most specialist and complex areas of employment law', according to instructing solicitors. In recent instructions of note, employment team head James Boyd represented Liverpool John Moores University in defeating a discrimination claim brought by a part-time law lecturer, while Helen Trotter represented the Ministry of Justice in an unfair dismissal claim brought by a former prison officer, who was dismissed for having allegedly assaulted a prisoner; it was contended that even if the assault occurred it was caused by PTSD, ergo his sacking constituted disability discrimination. Strengthening the team, Rosie Kight joined chambers in 2018 having previously been a solicitor at both Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Addleshaw Goddard. A rising star at the Bar, Kight is praised by solicitors for her ability to 'focus on the key details of a case and speak to clients in a very straightforward way, making complex points seem easy to understand'.

Tier 3 sets

St John's Buildings

St John's Buildings 'has a large employment team with a wealth of experience and a well-deserved reputation for excellence'. In recent instructions of note, the 'very approachable' Jason Searle represented a day nursery which was blackmailed by two former employees who had hidden cocaine on the premises, while 'excellent advocate' Ghazhan Mahmoud represented a Cumbria firm of accountants in a dispute with a former senior employee concerning restrictive covenants. Jamie Jenkins has been representing a claimant consultant psychiatrist who, after working with dangerous mental health patients, was diagnosed with PTSD following a lengthy absence from work; the claimant was dismissed for a breach of contract. Former solicitor Thomas Wood joined chambers in 2017 and has specialist expertise in TUPE, disability discrimination, and whistleblowing claims.

The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - The Bar > Regional Bar > Employment

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Employment

Leading Silks

2019 Silks

Leading Juniors

Rising Stars

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