Suzanne Palmer > 4 King's Bench Walk > London, England > Barrister Profile

Suzanne Palmer

020 7822 7000 sxp@4kbw.co.uk

Work Department

Employment

Position

Barrister, Head of Employment Team; Head of Chambers’ Equality and Diversity Sub-Committee; Chambers’ Complaints Officer

Career

Called 1995 (Middle Temple). In private practice at the Bar continuously since 1996. Joined 4 King’s Bench Walk (Chambers of Gavin Holme) in March 2009. Previously in Chambers at 2 Gray’s Inn Square (Chambers of Jane Rayson, 2006-2009) and Field Court Chambers (Chambers of Melanie Spencer, 1997-2006), following pupillage at 13 King’s Bench Walk and 10 Bolt Court.

Suzie combines two main areas of practice: Employment and Professional Regulation. She also practices in general civil common law. In 2023 she was appointed as a Fee-Paid Employment Judge, assigned to the London East region.

Suzie has a reputation for delivering down-to-earth legal advice alongside careful and logical analysis of the legal and factual issues in a case.

Suzie’s Employment law practice encompasses the full range of pre-litigation and contentious employment law advice and representation at first instance and appellate courts and tribunals. Clients range from individuals to small businesses to multi-national corporations. She has experience of cases across many industries and sectors, including local and national government organisations, public, private and voluntary sectors and education. Suzie has extensive experience of complex multi-week hearings and of appearing for and against vulnerable parties and witnesses and against litigants in person. She has published articles and other publications on Employment law, including an article the New Law Journal on statutory grievance procedures. She has also written and delivered a number of seminars on employment law issues for both solicitors and non-lawyers.

Suzie’s Professional Regulation practice consists primarily of regular work as a legal assessor for a number of professional regulatory tribunals, since 2009. Much of this work is in the healthcare sector. She is currently appointed as a legal assessor to the Nursing & Midwifery Council, the General Dental Council, the General Council of Chiropractors, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and the General Optical Council. She has advised in cases including Fitness to Practice proceedings (misconduct, competence, health and convictions), Interim Order hearings, Registration Appeals, Restoration hearings, Investigation Committee proceedings, and cases involving complex allegations against multiple registrants, as well as hearings involving unrepresented registrants and vulnerable witnesses. Over the years Suzie has also provided advice and/or representation to private clients in relation to regulatory proceedings at a number of regulatory authorities, including proceedings at the Health & Care Professions Council, the Nursing & Midwifery Council, the General Optical Council and the NHS Performers List Panel. She has extensive knowledge of the statutory regulatory regime governing these professions, the considerable body of case law common to regulated professions, and the overarching principles of public protection, public interest and proportionality which are common to all professional regulatory proceedings.

Suzie has a particular interest in cases where her two primary practice areas overlap, and she is ideally placed to provide holistic advice in cases involving employment issues in relation to regulated professionals, for example those facing internal investigations which then lead to a referral to a regulator, or health issues (including disability) which may raise both employment and fitness to practice concerns.

Memberships

Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers; Employment Lawyers’ Association; Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians

Education

Perse School for Girls, Cambridge; University of Oxford (Corpus Christi College) – BA (Hons) in Jurisprudence; Inns of Court School of Law (BVC)

Leisure

Keen amateur classical musician – regular and active member of several orchestras, symphonic wind bands and chamber ensembles.