Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP maintains a strong position in the market for employment matters with high commercial or reputational risk, particularly for multinational businesses and financial institutions. Andrew Taggart is well known for his work in high-profile and high-value litigation, including discrimination, whistleblowing, and breach of contract claims. Christine Young is sought out by clients for her expertise in the financial services and energy sectors, and her Employment Tribunal and High Court work. Tim Leaver frequently assists in the employment and social aspects of ESG reporting, while Nick Wright has broad experience extending to sensitive regulatory investigations. The team benefits from the experience of Peter Frost, who is highly regarded for his work in employment disputes. Other names to note include Siân McKinley and Jennifer Andrews.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team are superb. The attention to detail, the client focus and the robust and rigorous approach to cases is a joy.’
‘Peter Frost is thoughtful, engaged and a really deep thinker. Josh Peters has great attention to detail, always ready to respond and address points.’
‘One of the best in the business when it comes to employment litigation for employers. When the issues really matter, they are the go-to firm.’
‘Tim Leaver is a seasoned and exceptionally effective employment litigator. Nick Wright is a very skilled employment lawyer, and Peter Frost is a legend of employment law litigation.’
‘The HSF Employment team is a go-to for the more complex and challenging employment matters - those involving regulatory or senior management angles. The team is broad and diverse, and is second to none when it comes to strategic guidance. In a recent case, we employed a mixture of AI and predictive analytics to determine potential case outcome probabilities in order to shape that into metrics that can be presented to the CFO and also help facilitate settlement range discussion. It was interesting to see the innovative mix of mathematics with law!’
‘Andrew Taggart quickly understands the big picture and is able to provide strategic, tailored advice. He has fantastic experience and an enormous network, which really helps shape an assessment of case merit.’
Key clients
- The Church of England
- Chevron
- National Grid
- AlTi Tiedemann Global
- Cheniere
- The Ardonagh Group
- Inchcape plc
- Pensions Insurance Corporation
- Pilkington
- Royal London
Work highlights
Acting for the Church of England in its status as "intervenor" in the appeal brought by Kristin Higgs against Farmor's School, which was heard at the EAT, and more recently at the Court of Appeal in October 2024.
Advising National Grid Plc on the employment aspects of the £630m sale of its electricity system operator to the UK Government.
Advising Chevron on the employment aspects of establishing a new global capability centre in India, providing strategic advice on the employment law considerations and legal requirements of establishing a new engineering and innovation centre in India.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
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Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
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
Tim Leaver; Andrew Taggart; Nick Wright; Christine Young
Other key lawyers
Peter Frost; Sian McKinley; Jennifer Andrews