Constantine Law Limited > London, England > Firm Profile

Constantine Law Limited Offices

Constantine Law Limited
THE CLUBHOUSE
8 ST JAMES’ SQUARE
LONDON
Middlesex
SW1Y 4JU
England
Visit website + 44 (0)203 696 8230

Constantine Law Limited > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dispute resolution > Professional discipline Tier 4

Constantine Law Limited acts for both firms and individuals facing professional disciplinary investigations. The team is particularly active in relation to finance, legal, accountancy, actuaries, healthcare, and insolvency practitioners. ‘One of the standout lawyers of her generation‘, Sarah Wallace is a corporate crime, professional discipline and financial services investigations expert.

Practice head(s):

Sarah Wallace

Other key lawyers:

Jemma Sherwood-Roberts

Testimonials

‘Sarah Wallace is highly professional, knowledgeable about her field, competent, and very conscientious.’

‘Sarah Wallace – one of the standout lawyers of her generation. Anyone with a professional discipline issue needs Sarah on their team.’

‘Top-quality advice and support received at good-value hourly rates.’

‘Technical delivery is excellent.’

‘All work is handled directly by partners who are available at short notice (within reason).’

‘Highly supportive in very stressful situations, and pragmatic and practical with the advice given.’

‘Effective and value-for-money lawyers who are fully engaged in the problem, the background, and the objectives of the individual they are supporting.’

‘Excellent, tight-knit team with top-notch partners in every area.’

Employment > Senior executives Tier 4

Specialising in advising senior executives within the financial services industry, Constantine Law Limited also provides a full range of services within the recruitment, construction, and public services sectors. The team is spearheaded by John Hayes, who atcs in high-value disability and sex-based discrimination claims. Additional core strengths for the team include regulatory work, corporate reshuffles, and wrongful dismissal claims. Will Clayton handles contentious whistleblowing claims and exit negotiation matters.

Practice head(s):

John Hayes

Other key lawyers:

Will Clayton

Testimonials

‘John Hayes is outstanding, easy to deal with and astute. He is a particularly strong choice for senior executives.’ 

‘John Hayes is extremely hardworking, and brings invaluable highly strategic thinking and oversight to a case. He is a strong and confident litigator.’ 

‘The team are extremely well organised and exceptionally good at identifying the issues and merits of a case at an early stage due to effective collaboration across all seniority levels.’

Work highlights

  • Acting for Caroline Taylor in a case on diplomatic immunity before the Employment Tribunal.
  • Representing Adeline Willis in a remedy hearing against NatWest following a successful merits claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious Tier 5

At boutique Constantine Law Limited, the regulatory and criminal investigations offering complements the firm’s core employment focus. The arrival of Emmeline Coerkamp from PCB Byrne LLP in January 2023 significantly strengthened the group’s capabilities in the investigations space, particularly those with a nexus to fraud. ‘Clever, professional and commercial‘ Sarah Wallace is the key senior contact.

Practice head(s):

Sarah Wallace

Other key lawyers:

Emmeline Coerkamp

Testimonials

‘Top-quality advice and support received. Technical delivery was excellent. All work was handled directly by partners who were available at short notice (within reason), highly supportive in a very stressful situation, and pragmatic and practical with the advice given.’

‘To be effective and value for money, lawyers need to be fully engaged in the problem, the background, and the objectives of the individual they are supporting. This was the case with both partners – the advice was top quality but pragmatic and practical and helped me to make the right decisions and compromise where necessary. The result was at the top end of my expectations. Hands on, personal, practical and quality advice is how I’d sum it up.’

‘Very efficient and responsive to client needs and timescales, an excellent professional all-round service.’

‘Emmeline Coerkamp is enjoyable to work with, efficient, professional and an excellent lawyer. Advice to the client is clear and comprehensive.’

‘Sarah Wallace – one of the finest financial services contentious lawyers of her generation. Superb understanding of what matters and when in regulatory investigations.’

‘Strong technical team and very professional to work with.’

‘Sarah Wallace is great to work with. Clever, professional and commercial.’

‘Sarah Wallace leads a very practical FS enforcement team. I trust that when our FS clients have contentious regulatory issues, Sarah will give honest and practical advice.’

Employment > Employers Tier 6

Constantine Law Limited is a growing presence in the London employment arena, increasingly involved in high profile contentious matters including major worker status cases. The firm also demonstrates capability in corporate support work such as TUPE and restructuring. The team is led by John Hayes, an expert in the field of restrictive covenants and injunctions. Nick Hine, Sarah Evans, Will Clayton and senior associate Caroline Glacken are also key members of the team.

Practice head(s):

John Hayes

Other key lawyers:

Will Clayton; Caroline Glacken; Nick Hine; Sarah Evans; Eliza Nash

Testimonials

‘The team are extremely well organised and exceptionally good at pinning down the issues and merits at an early stage by really effective collaboration of different levels of seniority.’

‘John Hayes is extremely hardworking and in every case I work with him on he brings invaluable high level strategic thinking and oversight to a case which always adds value. He is also a really strong and confident litigator.

‘Sarah Evans has fantastic judgement, is great with clients and her negotiating skills really stand out.’

‘The team is excellent from top to bottom – whoever it is I deal with, I am confident in the advice they give. Their advice and guidance are invaluable to our business and they have been instrumental in helping us steer through stormy waters, especially in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit UK.’

‘Nick Hine is the standout individual. His knowledge and experience are second to none.’

‘Frankly, I simply would not use anyone else.’

‘The core of this team has been John Hayes and Nick Hine who are class acts, operating in the top tier of the London market.’

‘John Hayes is outstanding, easy to deal with, and astute.’

Key clients

The MCG Group Holdings Limited

Coyle Personnel Limited

McGee Group (Holdings) Limited

Lockhart Capital Management LLP

I HS Africa (UK) Limited

Takepayments Limited

Restore Plc

Storm Global Limited

Café Royal Management Limited

Contino Solutions Limited/Cognizant New Solutions Limited

Work highlights

  • Acting for a national recruitment business Storm Global  involved in a major employment (agency) status cases.
  • Acting for the Restore Group Plc in relation to their ongoing restructure of the business and, specifically, in a High Court injunction case for a Group company during the past year.
  • Advising Fidera Vecta Limited and working with Cohen & Gresser (a NYC based firm) to represent this financial services company in a case interim relief proceedings in a whistleblowing case before the Employment Tribunal.

Constantine Law Limited > Firm Profile

The firm: Established in 2015, Constantine Law (“Employment and Regulatory Solutions at Work”) is a UK national law firm, headquartered in London, with a highly experienced team of lawyers consisting of employment, business immigration, regulatory and business crime specialists. Constantine Law is a partner-led firm, engaging experienced employment and regulatory lawyers to provide solutions-orientated advice to its clients. The firm is highly entrepreneurial and has stripped out many of the overheads of traditional law in order to pass on cost-savings to clients.

Constantine Law’s core values are: 

  • Clarity: direct, solutions-orientated advice from experienced lawyers
  • Modernity: a modern law firm deploying modern solutions to meet the needs of our clients in changing times
  • Value: lower overheads and a leaner business model results in more cost effective price for clients than rival firms
  • Collaboration: active engagement with both our clients and each other respecting the time, autonomy and experience of all.

Main areas of practice
For employers: acting in the main for “middle market” employers. Many of Constantine Law’s clients are owner-managed and the firm has acted for them for many years.

For employees: acting for senior executives, partners leaving law firms and senior wealth managers moving firms.

Constantine Law provides the following areas of advice to its employer and employee clients:

  1. Restrictive covenant and injunctive relief work: regular litigation in the High Court and obtaining injunctions for clients and/or defending claims on behalf of employees and helping them to set up their new businesses.
  2. Employment agency and recruitment work: a trusted partner of APSCO and contributor to the sector’s policy discussion. The firm acts for a number of the UK’s largest privately owned businesses.
  3. Complex discrimination and whistleblowing claims: Constantine Law conducts internal investigations for clients in relation to complex discrimination and whistleblowing grievances. We also act for senior executives and partners bringing high-value claims against banks and law firms. Many of our cases have been reported in the press.
  4. Partner hires and acting for law firms and wealth-management businesses: the firm does the “own spend” employment law advice work for a clutch of UK law firms, in particular advising on partner exits. We also handle partner-exits on a regular basis for partners leaving firms and negotiating Settlement Deeds for them. The firm also manages the hiring processes for wealth management (and other financial services businesses).
  5. TUPE due diligence and corporate support work: Constantine Law acts for US law firms where they lack capability to carry out employment law due diligence exercises.
  6. Settlement Agreements: preparing settlement agreements for employers and advising on behalf of numerous settlement agreements for employees.
  7. Contracts and Handbooks: Constantine Law provides the full suite of contractual documentation to its corporate clients and advises employees on improving their terms.
  8. Business Immigration: the firm assists employers in their sponsor-licence work in getting highly skilled workers into the UK.

Dual expertise: Constantine Law’s employment and regulatory teams have provided their dual expertise to benefit individuals subject to investigations and challenges in the workplace.

Regulatory and criminal investigations: Constantine Law has a ranked team in this area and advises professionals and businesses in their interactions with UK regulators with enforcement powers including accountancy and finance, legal and healthcare sectors. It has an experienced, versatile and cost-effective team who have worked in private practice, in-house for global financial institutions and with government authorities in the UK.

In particular, Sarah Wallace leads a team which acts for individuals in the legal, accountancy and financial services sectors who face enforcement action whether from regulators or prosecuting authorities.

Memberships and associations: Constantine Law is an active member of the following organisations:

(a) ELA: where John Hayes is a regular “mentor” at pastoral events and all employment lawyers are regular attendees and contributors at ELA events. Alan Lewis writes regularly in People Management on behalf of the CIPD. All members of the team regularly publish articles for the wider employment law and business community.

(b) Association of Partnership Practitioners: where John Hayes attends as part of the firm’s commitment to partnerships and law firms.

(c) ILPA: where Caroline Glacken, and Zahra Mahmood attend events and contribute to debate in the business immigration field.

(d) Trade Organisations: APSCO, BITA, WISE and host of other business-focussed trade sector bodies.

Offices: The firm’s main office is at 8 St James’ Square, London SW1Y 4JU, but our firm is largely remotely based and has hubs in Manchester and Birmingham.

Principal contact: John Hayes: John.Hayes@Constantinelaw.co.uk

UK partners: 10
Other UK fee-earners: 4