Lewis Silkin

Employment, reward and immigration.

Partner and Head of the firm's Investigations and Regulatory group and sits on the Firm's Strategy Board. 

Karen specialises in employment and partnership law and regularly conducts complex and highly sensitive workplace investigations, alongside her advisory work.

Karen has a wealth of experience advising major companies and LLPs, in relation to the employment law issues they face, and routinely conducts complex and highly sensitive investigations, both within the UK and internationally.

Karen has a diverse client base, with a particular emphasis towards advising major domestic and international law firms and other professional services organisations on all aspects of their relationships with their employees and members/partners. This includes resolving issues such as contentious team moves, the enforcement of restrictive covenants and the use of alternative dispute resolution. Karen also acts for senior executives and individual partners/members.

Karen prides herself in taking a pragmatic, commercial, and business-focused approach to all of her work. She particularly enjoys resolving high-value disputes, both before and after the commencement of litigation, including sensitive discrimination cases, whistleblowing claims, and those involving regulatory matters. Karen also advises on workplace restructures, negotiates employment documentation, such as contracts and settlement agreements, and provides training on all of these issues.

Employment

A typical day might include advising her clients on issues such as how to deal with allegations of discrimination or harassment, redundancies and complex grievances or disciplinary matters. Karen also manages and advises on all aspects of outsourcing arrangements, including the application of TUPE, and any Employment Tribunal claims faced by her clients. Examples of some of her recent work include:

• advising a major international law firm on a significant restructuring and outsourcing project
• successfully resolving a discrimination dispute between directors of a plc
• successfully defending a multi-Respondent disability discrimination claim
• advising a major supermarket in relation to board level issues
• advising a bank faced with multiple whistleblowing claims

Investigations and Regulatory

Karen's investigations work typically involves allegations of serious wrongdoing and/or allegations against very senior employees or partners. This work requires careful and sensitive handling to ensure that all the facts are uncovered in a fair, proportionate and even-handed way. This work includes interviewing witnesses, identifying and locating other forms of evidence, and providing a report setting out the evidence obtained which enables the organisation to respond appropriately to the findings made. Many of the investigations that she has conducted relate to regulated industries, so she is able to ensure that the corporate response meets the requirements and expectations of the relevant regulator. Some recent examples of her work include:

• investigating allegations of discrimination made against very senior executives in a household name business
• investigating allegations of sexual assault against a law firm partner
• investigations allegations of bullying made by one board member against another
• investigating multiple allegations against a partner of a law firm
• investigating allegations relating to bullying and discrimination on the set of a film production
• investigating allegations of expenses fraud by a senior executive
• investigating allegations of sexual, emotional and physical abuse against a religious leader

Partnerships & LLPs

Karen's clients include a number of the leading international law firms and LLPs. She regularly advises these organisations in relation to matters such as team moves, the rights and obligations of partners, and partnership disputes. Karen also acts for partners in dispute with their current or former partnership or LLP. Some recent examples of her advisory work include:

• advising a major law firm on the fall-out following a hotly contested management election
• advising in relation to partnership retirement issues and allegations of age discrimination
• advising a major law firm in relation to an arbitration arising out of a team move
• advising in relation to a partner exit which involved allegations of disability discrimination
• advising a team of partners on their rights and obligations towards their LLP ahead of a planned team move
• advising a law firm on near shoring its back office function

Trained Lewis Silkin; qualified 2003; associate Lewis Silkin 2003-11; partner Lewis Silkin 2011 to present.

ELA; lus Laboris, Association of Partnership Practioners.

University of Bristol (LLB); University of the West of England, Bristol (LPC).

Karen is a passionate advocate of the importance of mental wellbeing and leads Lewis Silkin's mental health campaign, #ThisPlaceMinds.