Paul Jennings > Bates Wells > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Bates Wells Offices

Bates Wells
10 QUEEN STREET PLACE
LONDON
EC4R 1BE
England
Visit website 020 7551 7777 020 7551 7800

Paul Jennings

Paul Jennings photo
020 7551 7777 p.jennings@bwbllp.com

Position

Paul is a specialist employment and discrimination lawyer. He advises employers and senior executives on the full range of legal issues connected with employment, including the formation and termination of the employment relationship, litigation, large-scale redundancies, TUPE, share options, and bonus disputes. His corporate and institutional clients include media organisations, financial institutions, charities (including schools), technology companies, and professional firms (including other law firms and barristers chambers). His litigation experience includes pursuing and defending cases in the Employment Tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal. Examples of recent work include: conducting a successful appeal in the case of Charm Offensive Productions v Lazarov and ors a test case concerning the employment status of actors; advising an organisation in respect of contractual changes, achieving savings in excess of £5m; successfully defending a household name business facing class action litigation worth in excess of £1.5m; advising a senior director at a global technology company on contractual terms, bonus provisions and share options; successfully defending an international airline facing claims of sex discrimination and unfair dismissal (before the Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal); successfully acting as advocate for an education institution facing claims of religion or belief discrimination in Shaikh v Tribal Education Ltd (ET/2201677/12); and defending a national charity against a serial litigant and acting as advocate in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Career

Trained Rowley Ashworth; Rowley Ashworth 2005-2008; Eversheds 2008- 2011; Bates Wells Braithwaite 2011 to date. Current directorships: Trustee and Director of School 21.

Memberships

ILS; ELA; committee member, ELA.

Education

St Simon Stock RC, Maidstone, Kent; Bristol University; the University of Kent; and the College of Law (London).

Lawyer Rankings

London > Employment > Senior executives

The team at Bates Wells is best known for dealing with exit negotiation, whistleblowing and harassment claims. Team head Lucy McLynn handles breaches of restrictive covenants, while Paul Jennings specialises in class actions and is leading an ongoing test case regarding the rights of multi-app workers. The firm also deals with term negotiation for non-contentious retail matters. Senior associate Hannah Wright handles sex discrimination litigation, while recently-promoted partner Rachel Mathieson is active on regulatory compliance matters. Another key team member is William Garnett.

London > Employment > Employers

Bates Wells is noted for its specialist expertise in advising NGOs, as well as institutional clients in the medical and sciences spaces such as the Royal College of Nursing. Further clients in a broad range include the Kuwait Investment Office, which the firm assisted with litigation pertaining to the interplay of employment law and diplomatic immunity. Practice head Lucy McLynn is a highly experienced litigator with particular expertise in employment status matters and discrimination claims. Rachel Mathieson, promoted to partner in April 2023, is also central to the team, as is Paul Jennings.

London > Industry focus > TMT

Bates Wells has a full-service TMT offering and advises on commercial contracts, data privacy, M&A, immigration issues and employment matters. The practice is particularly adept at matters relating to gig economy, outsourcing and media. Team head Richard Marke acts for IT clients in technology product acquisitions while Rupert Earle leads the media litigation work. Paul Jennings handles employment and partnership issues within the sector.

Lawyer Rankings

Top Tier Firm Rankings

Firm Rankings