Law Firms - Employment and Partnership

Our team of expert employment and LLP/partnership lawyers has extensive experience in advising and supporting law firms on the full range of people related issues. We work with GCs and HR teams to provide ad-hoc advice or long-term support on a full range of employment and partnership matters.
 

Our experience acting for a wide range of firms, over many years, gives us a unique perspective. We regularly advise on:

• partner/LLP member issues including appointments, exits, performance, confidentiality, restrictive covenants and team moves, and
• employment issues involving solicitors, contractors, consultants and other employees, including performance and sickness absence management, misconduct, grievances, discrimination, whistleblowing, redundancy, restructures and outsourcings. We also prepare and advise on implementing appropriate, tailored employment contracts, handbooks and policies to align with your business objectives.

We have particular experience of complex internal investigations for law firms, helping them to navigate what are invariably very sensitive and often complicated legal issues. These often involve, although not exclusively, misconduct including counter inclusive behaviours. We build cross-departmental teams tailored to the needs of our law firm clients to ensure all other necessary advice is provided including regulatory, reputation management, data protection and criminal advice.   

We represent clients defending disputes in the Employment Tribunal and High Court, and bring creative solutions to resolving them.  We also represent clients in forms of alternative dispute resolution including mediation, judicial mediation and arbitration. We provide strategic and pragmatic advice, and recognise the inherent potential for adverse publicity and regulatory issues, which can be particularly challenging for law firms.

We also offer bespoke training, tailored to suit your requirements.

Discrimination claims

We assist our clients through the process of defending and avoiding future discrimination claims. As experts in discrimination law, we apply our knowledge and experience of this dynamic area of legal practice to the specific circumstances of each client’s case. We provide strategic and pragmatic advice in order to navigate what can sometimes seem like a minefield.

Whistleblowing

Our team has significant experience of representing firms who are seeking to handle and investigate whistleblowing disclosures.

We are also able to advise firms in relation to whistleblowing policies and procedures, staff and partner training, risk and crisis management, and dealing with regulatory bodies.

Exits and restructures

We have a proven track record of ensuring that our clients achieve optimal outcomes in partnership/LLP member exits and termination of employment situations. Our experience will guide you on how to handle the situation to ensure your business interests are protected. 
We regularly advise clients on their redundancy procedures or restructuring processes and help to manage them efficiently and in ways to minimise legal risk. Where claims do arise, we can defend firms in the Employment Tribunal or High Court.

Restrictive covenants and team moves

There is no such thing as a “watertight” restrictive covenant for every case. Good drafting is critical if restrictive covenants are going to protect a firm’s interests in the ways it wants to.  In the case of employees, if a restrictive covenant is too widely drafted and broad in scope, the Court will find it to be an unlawful restraint of trade and unenforceable.

We are well experienced when it comes to dealing with team moves and have exceptional knowledge and expertise in the issues at stake.

We work hard with our clients, often very urgently in making or defending applications for injunctive relief, to obtain the best solution to cases. We provide the support, resources, commercially sound guidance, and legal expertise that clients need in every step of the process.

Disciplinary and grievance procedures, absence and performance management

Advising in relation to disciplinary and grievance procedures, and providing guidance on absence and performance management, is one of our core areas of expertise. It is often important that advice is taken on these issues as soon as they arise, even if your policies and procedures are up to date. Frequently these cases are difficult to deal with and complications easily arise. Mishandling the situation can lead to various claims and therefore ensuring appropriate management of such issues from the outset is key.

Our team is well acquainted in advising HR professionals, managers and partners on internal investigations, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and absence and performance management, to minimise the risk of tribunal claims.

Investigations

We have extensive experience advising on and conducting investigations into misconduct and arising from whistleblowing and grievances.

Sexual misconduct in the workplace investigations are a prime example of our seamless cross-departmental service.

Policies and procedures

Properly drafted employment contracts and staff handbooks are important from an HR and risk management perspective. We don’t just hand over generic precedent documents; we provide tailored documents, prepared with our clients’ business and commercial needs firmly in mind. We guide our clients through the process of negotiating new contracts, varying existing contracts, and rolling out suitable policies and procedures.

Our experience shows that very often, with proper advice at the outset, either a subsequent dispute could have been avoided altogether, or the financial exposure minimised.