Employment
Now partner, Tarun reflects on his training contract as a formative time in his career development. “There are obviously differences between my life now as a partner and when I was a trainee,” he says. “Lewis Silkin gives its trainees real and practical experience of handling cases and drafting advice, witness statements and transaction documents.” More of his time is now spent “on strategic calls on matters”, Tarun is quick to point out that it’s not all about the big calls. “I still get stuck into the thorny details of a dispute or set of facts and identify that key piece of evidence, legal argument or commercial pressure factor that’s going to deliver the optimal outcome, and I love it!” Life cycle of employee issues The work of an employment solicitor is broad and “offers a mixture of contentious and non-contentious work”. On the disputes side, this could mean working on “employment tribunal litigation or High Court litigation”. On the non-contentious side, it might involve “advising on a range of employment aspects of transactions, initial public offerings or even commercial deals where employees are likely to transfer from one business to another”. Lawyers in this field are closely involved in the full life cycle of employee issues. “That could be drafting contracts, sign on bonus letters, or other equity terms when individuals join businesses; defining and implementing policies that apply during the employment relationship; dealing with the employment aspects of transactions and business growth; and at the end of employment relationships, dealing with disputes or potentially employment termination and disputes over post-employment restrictions.” There’s a variety to the work and great opportunities for lawyers to get to know their clients, how their organisations work, and the issues they’re facing. Among the issues currently influencing Tarun’s clients and the sector is the fallout of political movements
Employment lawyers work across all areas of employment law, including handling discrimination, staff restructuring and whistleblowing issues. There’s been increased focus on employment law in recent years, due to a combination of new legislation, government policies and employees’ increased awareness of their rights. Trainees assist with a wide variety of work, such as the employment aspects of corporate or commercial transactions, preparations for tribunal claims, attending hearings and meetings, and helping to draft documents such as employment contracts or policies. “There’s no typical day for an employment solicitor,” says Lewis Silkin partner Tarun Tawakley, who completed his training contract at the firm before qualifying in 2009. Tarun is “a full-service employment lawyer by trade with a particular focus on clients in the technology and financial services sectors”. With secondments to the legal team at a major international oil company and an international investment bank, and a stint as head of employment law and commercial litigation at Deliveroo under his belt, it’s fair to say that Tarun has been kept busy by his legal career so far. “I enjoy solving complex problems for my clients, leveraging my legal and broader expertise to do so.” It’s this broader advisory nature of practice that’s always appealed and completing vacation schemes and mini- pupillages in the early stages confirmed it was an attractive career. The thorny details Undertaking a vacation scheme and training contract at Lewis Silkin introduced Tarun to the firm’s market-leading reputation in employment law. He urges candidates to get involved in open days and similar programmes as “they can give valuable insights into the firm’s practice and culture, which you can reference in applications”.
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