Simon Shepherd > Schofield Sweeney > Leeds, England > Lawyer Profile
Schofield Sweeney Offices
76 WELLINGTON STREET
LEEDS
LS1 2AY
England
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Simon Shepherd
Work Department
Employment
Position
Partner
Simon undertakes all types of employment law work, primarily acting for employer clients, including several PLC clients. He advises of disciplinary and grievance matters, TUPE consultation procedures and on complex restructuring and redundancy issues. Simon conducts his own advocacy in the Employment Tribunals and he has successfully represented clients in proceedings involving unfair dismissal, sex, race, age and disability discrimination. On several occasions, Simon has been successful in obtaining costs awards against the Claimant.
Simon has a particular specialism in the education sector and he acts for more than 70 community schools, academies and independent schools, advising not only on employment issues (which has included advising on the dismissal of several Headteachers) but also on more specific education matters such as admissions, exclusions and parental complaints. Simon has also defended academy clients against claims of disability discrimination in the SEN Tribunal.
Career
Trained Jordans, Dewsbury, qualified 1998; partner Schofield Sweeney Solicitors 2005.
Memberships
Employment Lawyers Association.
Education
Hall Cross Comprehensive, Doncaster; Sheffield Hallam University (1994 LLB (Hons)); Nottingham Law School (1995 PG Dip in law); Leicester University (part-time) (2000 LLM).
Leisure
Badminton, swimming and reading.
Lawyer Rankings
Yorkshire and the Humber > Employment > Employment: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire
Schofield Sweeney provides a strong offering in contentious work, but also has capabilities in respect of restructurings, redundancies, and advisory work. Education is a particular sector focus for the firm, but healthcare, housing, and immigration are also spaces of activity. Simon Shepherd heads the Leeds-based practice and specialises in education, as does the newly promoted Annie Gray, while John Robinson focusses on corporate clients.
Yorkshire and the Humber > Public sector > Education
Academy conversions, advice to multi-academy trusts, and assistance with specialised funding and development schemes for schools all form part of the regular workload at Schofield Sweeney. Andrew Hurst is the key senior contact in the Bradford office, with Tina Morris providing ‘exceptional’ support at the associate level. Over in Leeds, employment specialist Simon Shepherd ‘has superior knowledge of the education sector’.
Lawyer Rankings
- Education Yorkshire and the Humber > Public sector
- Employment: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire Yorkshire and the Humber > Employment
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Public sector > Education
- Real estate > Environment
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Planning
- Finance > Banking and finance
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire
- Real estate > Commercial property: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Leeds, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire
- Projects, energy and natural resources (including PFI) > Infrastructure and energy
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Real estate > Social housing
- Real estate > Construction
- Employment > Employment: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms