
With clients spanning international financial services and pensions groups, public sector employees, and hospitality and retail employers, Appleby‘s employment practice leads on contentious and non-contentious instructions spanning equal pay, discrimination and dismissal claims, regulatory counsel amid restructurings and transactions, and regulatory investigations. Practice head Richard Sheldon specialises on high-value severance disputes and contentious regulatory matters. Niall MacDonald advises on employment due diligence in transactions, while James Gallimore has a burgeoning practice in contentious tribunal cases.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- I mainly deal with Richard Sheldon, who always makes time to speak or will call back when he says he will. He always reassures me on any employment queries and has a very considerate manner.
- Richard Sheldon is excellent - super responsive, commercial, and plain speaking. As he worked as a UK lawyer first, he knows how to explain the differences between the jurisdictions, anticipating what clients will need to understand.
- Richard Sheldon is very responsive and gives commercial advice. He's also excellent at keeping up to date with UK law to be able to give a comparison between UK and offshore.
- Richard Sheldon's quick thinking, responsiveness, and calm, professional manner in high-pressure situations are remarkable and mark him and his team out as leaders in Guernsey employment legal services. His associate, James Gallimore, is a great support; very responsive and willing to work around the clock to meet deadlines.
- Richard Sheldon's quick thinking, responsiveness, and calm, professional manner in high-pressure, legally complex situations are remarkable and mark him and his team out as leaders in Guernsey employment legal services. It is a very experienced and well-managed team providing excellent client service, with the individuals able to cover employment, data protection, and other regulatory advice in a one-stop service.
- Richard Sheldon is the best employment lawyer I have worked with. He is responsive, has sound judgment, and the ability to deliver clear, actionable advice on complex and often nuanced situations. He can cut through issues quickly and minimize business risk.
- The team is particularly effective in navigating sensitive workplace issues, senior exits, and contentious matters, providing calm, solutions-focused guidance that protects both the business and its people.
Key clients
- Barclays Group
- Canaccord Genuity Wealth
- Eversheds Sutherland
- HSBC Group
- Kentucky Fried Chicken
- WM Morrisons plc
- PIB Group Limited
- Praxis Group
- Suntera Global
Work highlights
Instructed by a number of senior civil servants in respect of an industrial tribunal claim which seeks to overturn changes made to the public sector pension scheme in 2016, including a change from final salary to a career average.
Instructed on Guernsey’s first ever equal pay case and the first case anywhere in the British Isles involving a race-related claim of equal pay, as opposed to simply direct discrimination.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Richard Sheldon
Other key lawyers
Niall McDonald; James Gallimore

