Ian is a Senior Associate in the Employment team.
Ian has a unique skillset that allows him to provide commercial and pragmatic advice to his clients, primarily focusing on the impact this has on the day-to-day operations of a business.
This stems from his experience in private practice but also a stint in house for a software company that ultimately was acquired by NEC Japan, the global conglomerate. He became the de-facto employment lawyer for the group, which consisted of over 3,000 employees. He also dealt with many other legal issues such as commercial contracts and high-level tender exercises for the company. As such, Ian has particular expertise of the technology, telecommunications and software development sectors.
His particular specialisms include large scale restructuring exercises, employment tribunal representation and the employment law-related elements of TUPE associated with acquisitions and mergers. Ian often conducts his own advocacy on behalf of his clients at the Employment Tribunal.
Ian also has extensive experience of dealing with whistleblowing claims and works with a number of whistleblowing organisations that have been formed to assist whistleblowers and help progress legislation to protect whistleblowers.
Examples of Ian’s recent work include:
- Overseeing the employment aspects of a large acquisition in the software sector that required approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.
- Assisting a client with the acquisition of competitor in the telecommunications sector and being an active member of the in-house integration team that integrated the businesses after acquisition.
- Defending an Employment Tribunal claim against one of his respondent clients, where the damages claimed were potentially over £1m and that included defending an interim relief application.
- Securing a settlement of over $2m for a whistleblower that worked in America for a UK registered company.