Mohinderpal Sethi KC > Chambers of Gavin Mansfield KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

‘A strong set for employment work‘, Littleton Chambers has a solid track record in representing respondent clients in a wide range of challenging cases. In the Court of Appeal, David Reade KC and Grahame Anderson acted for the respondents in a test case on the rights of agency workers to access permanent employment opportunities (Kocur v Angard Staffing Limited and Royal Mail Group). Also in the Court of Appeal, Anderson and Nicholas Siddall KC acted in Kong v Gulf International Bank Ltd, a landmark case involving the scope of the distinction between a whistleblowing disclosure and the conduct related to its manner, known as the separability principle. Over in the Supreme Court, Mohinderpal Sethi KC and Sophia Berry appeared in Basfar v Wong, the first case to be granted permission to leapfrog appeal directly to the Supreme Court from the EAT. The case involved a claim brought against a serving diplomat by a domestic worker, who alleged that she had been trafficked to the UK and her employment conditions constituted modern slavery; the Supreme Court ruled that diplomatic immunity could not defeat such a claim as it fell under the commercial activity exception.

Littleton Chambers‘ partnership group receives a regular flow of instructions involving professional services firms for sensitive disputes carrying reputational and business risk. Members of chambers, including head of chambers Gavin Mansfield KC, handle a number of matters at the intersection of partnership and employment law, with clients including patent agents, surveyors and hedge funds. Mansfield KC was recently involved in Armstrong and others v Taylor and others, a High Court claim between members of an investment management business, including an allegation that one group of partners conspired to remove the claimant’s group’s influence.  Jonathan Cohen KC is another notable name in this space, while Mohinderpal Sethi KC handles disputes arising in the professional and financial services sector; James Bickford Smith is noted for his expertise in partnership arbitrations.

Littleton Chambers demonstrates an ‘excellent range of work‘ in the sports field, which includes contractual, employment and FA Rule K disputes in football, while standing out for its work in the scope of discrimination and safeguarding investigations. For example, Mohinderpal Sethi KC is chair of the independent investigation, and Ashley Cukier a member of the investigation team, looking into allegations of unlawful discrimination at Yorkshire CCC. Paul Gilroy KC was instructed as an expert witness on English law in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the dispute between the club and Nantes FC over the transfer of Emiliano Sala. David Reade KC is noted for his working relating to agency contracts disputes in football, and Lydia Banerjee is noted for her work in investigations by governing bodies regarding, among others, safeguarding and abuse.

Littleton Chambers offers considerable experience handling complex commercial and employment disputes before the DIFC, ADGM and other Middle Eastern offshore courts. Mohinderpal Sethi KC represented the defendants in Kahlon v Liberty Steel Group Ltd, a significant case before the DIFC Court of Appeal in which a damages claim in excess of $32 million was brought by the company’s former CEO; the judgement will be a leading case on the jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts under the Judicial Authority Law. James Bickford Smith remains highly sought after for complex employee disputes which span multiple jurisdictions, including the DIFC, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.