Labour , Employment , and Benefits
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We are widely recognised as the go-to firm for employment issues across a number of industries, with some of the world’s largest corporate, media, and financial companies counted as our clients, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Microsoft, Nokia, AECOM and Heidrick & Struggles. Our London team works in tandem with employment lawyers in France, Germany, the Middle East, and the United States to help our clients with their important, most critical employment needs, from day-to-day counselling to high-profile disputes to strategic global projects. We have extensive knowledge of the key sectors we work in, giving us valuable insight into the market pressures our clients face and enabling us to provide advice that is commercial and pragmatic. We seek to add value to our client relationships by understanding and taking into account the commercial implications of the advice we deliver.
Tell us about your path to law? I studied English literature at Bristol University and joined Reed Smith in 2003 as a trainee. It’s been a really interesting 15 years, with a broad variety of work – work here (and in the law more generally) is always a challenge, but in a really good way. Why employment law? I enjoy employment law for the constant variety it offers. It’s one of the few areas where you regularly work on both contentious and non-contentious work, which I find really interesting. Employment law is also constantly developing, which keeps us on our toes.
What has been your highlights to date? A highlight for me was defending a complex discrimination, harassment, and constructive unfair dismissal claim. After months of preparation, we had a seven-day hearing in the Employment Tribunal; it was nail-biting watching our witnesses give evidence, but the client was delighted when the Tribunal found in our favour on all claims. In addition to the case load, I’ve enjoyed making and maintaining good relationships with both our clients and within Reed Smith. This is a really important and fun aspect of my role.
Jo Powis Counsel
22 Reed Smith Next generation law
Next generation law Reed Smith 23
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