Employment

Blake Morgan LLP

Drawing upon a 'collaborative spirit' both directly within the employment team, as well as throughout the broader firm, Blake Morgan LLP's partner-led offering excels in providing 'pragmatic, flexible and solutions-oriented advice' across a broad swathe of contentious and non-contentious matters. The 'always approachable' Matthew Smith is a popular choice among both education clients (including universities) and retailers, which are appreciative of his ability to provide 'balanced but resolute advice' in the context of often highly complex litigation. Paula Kathrens has broad knowledge of the nuanced needs of a range of public sector entities, including within the health, education and social housing sectors, and has niche expertise in relation to internal disciplinary proceedings involving doctors in NHS Wales. 'Extremely knowledgeable' team head Joanne Davies ' non-contentious practice spans both the public and private sectors, including corporate support work, as well as advice on TUPE matters both when dealing with procurement and outsourcing in the public sector, and on corporate transactions and group restructurings.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'The team provides partner led, reliable and pragmatic advice.'
'They display a collaborative spirit.'
'They provide pragmatic, flexible and solutions-oriented advice.'
'Joanne Davies is approachable, adept at forming sound working relationships, fosters trust and is extremely knowledgeable.'
'The always approachable Matthew Smith provides balanced but resolute advice.'
'Matthew Smith is extremely experienced, knowledgeable and an excellent advisor in difficulty circumstances.'

Key clients

Welsh Government
The NHS in Wales
Swansea University
Gower College, Swansea
Russell & Bromley Limited
Trivallis Limited
Dolce & Gabbana UK Limited
Zip World
Charbonnel et Walker Limited
Wales Audit Office
Awen Cultural Trust
Strutt and Parker Farms Limited
Patch Gardens Limited
Unrvld Group

Work highlights

Acted for Cardiff & Vale University Health Board in the case of Agarwal v (1) Cardiff University (2) Cardiff & Vale University Local Health Board. This case is one of the leading authorities about an Employment Tribunal's jurisdiction to hear cases involving deductions from an employee's wages, where there is a dispute about the contractual terms on which the employer considers it is entitled to make such deductions.
Advised Black Newco Ltd on its acquisition of the business and assets of Berry Systems Limited. This included assisting the client with the transfer of employees and compliance with TUPE advising on the employment aspects of relocation.
Continue to act for Hywel Dda University Health Board in these long-running internal and employment tribunal proceedings. These include claims for direct race discrimination, victimisation, unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal.