Practice Profile
Simon believes in giving clear, no nonsense strategic legal advice to companies and individuals alike through solicitors to directly. Simon practices in 3 main areas.
He represents businesses, particularly start ups and small business (but also large organisations and local authorities such as Asda and London local authorities) in 4 key areas:
- Cash flow (helping companies put systems in place to collect their debts, as well as assisting with their contracts to ensure they match their actual workflow; he also has experience in litigating and mediating construction cases;)
- Employment and related systems (in particular advising and managing disciplinaries and sickness absences, both internally and at the employment tribunal and setting up systems to recruit and manage fairly)
- Company asset protection (in particular issues of database theft, intellectual property protection, social media and related issues, creating consumer law complaint website policies, group moves and breaches of restrictive covenants).
- Commercial immigration issues, including Tier 1 entrepreneur and investor visa cases.
He has extensive experience in representing for both employers and employees in the Employment Tribunal and above. He has undertaken extensive work in cases both for and against solicitors and firms of solicitors in both county court and employment trials. Equally, he has represented doctors and teachers before the employment tribunal and before their regulators.
Simon has also extensive experience in all issues of immigration and asylum law, with a particular focus on Article 8 family cases, deportation appeals, administrative review cases, judicial review and commercial immigration.
Testimonials
Work Undertaken
- Employment law claims including all forms of discrimination, whistleblowing, TUPE and unfair dismissal as well as fair recruitment;
- Representing professionals such as solicitors, teachers and doctors before their regulators as well as the Employment Tribunal/county court
- All forms of immigration and asylum law;
- Intellectual property, in particular copyright and trademark protection of company assets;
- Contractual drafting, including website terms and conditions, HaaS and SaaS contracts, matching terms and conditions to workflow, drafting agency, introducer agreements and sales contracts in art related cases;
- Breach of contract cases including restrictive covenants in employment cases and restraints of trade;
- County court trials
- Construction law disputes, including advising or adjudication, arbitration and litigating such cases (whether under JCT or outside)
Appointments & Memberships
- Middle Temple, Other - See below
- Member of the Employment Lawyers Association
- Member of ILPA
Notable Cases
Fadina v Government Car & Despatch Agency
[2005] UKEAT 0264_04_1602 on adjournment for medical reasons in the employment tribunal.
Baldwin v Brighton and Hove City Council
[2007] IRLR 232 - one of the first cases reported on transgender discrimination as well as the correct test for constructive dismissal.
Orr v Milton Keynes Council
[2009] UKEAT 0506_08_0511 a case concerning race discrimination.
Briars v Williamson & Soden Solicitors
[2011] All ER (D) 101 on the position of salaried partners in a solicitors firm
Thomas v Samurai Incentives & Promotions Ltd (Practice and Procedure : Amendment)
[2013] UKEAT 0006_13_1503 on Selkent type amendments.
Disotto Foods v Santos
[2014] UKEAT 0623_12_3103 and Disotto Food Ltd v Santos (Practice and Procedure) [2013] UKEAT 0623_12_1005, the latter reported for consideration of whether the standard of consideration is the same for an employment judge sitting alone as compared with a panel.
Ram v JD Wetherspoon Plc (Unfair Dismissal : Compensation)
[2011] UKEAT 0080 a cross over case concerning a dismissal of a migrant worker, Simon also represented the same client in the Upper Tribunal (and both cases won).
SD (Turkey) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
[2007] EWCA Civ 1514, a TUrkish asylum case in the Court of Appeal, as was NS v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 802.
Kisuule, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
[2011] EWHC 2966 (Admin) a successful judicial review over a case whether a student had their photographs lost by the Home Office.
R (on the application of Okondu and Abdussalam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (wasted costs; SRA referrals; Hamid) IJR
[2014] UKUT 377 (IAC) where Simon defended a solicitor facing a wasted costs application in immigration.
Insolvency
Simon has experience in representing both individuals and companies in the insolvency courts. He has represented individuals before the bankrupt registrars and negotiated or arranged for extra time to pay of debts. He has also dealt with the effects of corporate insolvency on directors, defending against allegations of unlawful dividends, breach of director duties, wrongful trading and unlawful transaction claims in actions in the High Court.
Education and Qualifications
BA (Hons) History, York University
Publications
Jordan Publishing - "Employment Guide to Procedures Paperback" A guide for employers that covers in jargon free language what systems and procedures you need, why you need them, and what can go wrong if you do not have them in place as well as how to recruit fairly, data protection infringement claims and how to protect your intellectual property from theft by employees.
