Paul Smith

Employment, family, civil law.

Paul Smith is a member of Chambers’ employment law team who has been recommended by the The Legal 500 every year since being in practice. He also undertakes commercial law work arising from the employment relationship and matrimonial finance work within the family law sphere. Employment law: Paul has appeared in employment tribunals across the country and is a popular choice for solicitors across the range of employment disputes, from unfair dismissal and discrimination cases to part-time workers, wages claims and TUPE issues. Paul successfully appeared in Hershaw v Sheffield City Council. Since 2008 Paul has been an accredited employment representative at the Free Representation Unit in London and he accepts referrals through the Bar Pro Bono Unit. Civil and commercial law: the focus of Paul’s work in this area is on civil disputes arising from the employment relationship, principally concerning restrictive covenants. He is a regular commentator on developments in restrictive covenant case law for a national employment law bulletin service, and has advised and represented corporate and individual clients in the High Court in urgent injunction applications. He has appeared in both the Chancery and Queen’s Bench divisions on behalf of commercial clients in cases worth up to £5m, and also advises lay and professional clients in respect of alleged professional negligence in employment tribunal litigation. Family law: Paul has developed a firm grounding in Family Law and has a busy practice in this area. With a focus upon matrimonial and cohabitation-related financial matters, Paul accepts instructions in financial remedy applications and in property disputes under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. He has experience of cases with foreign elements and has represented spouses in complex applications for freezing orders and the setting aside of property transactions. Paul has also acted in cases involving high net-worth and well-known individuals (including professional footballers and golfers), in cases involving vulnerable people, and in enforcement and variation applications.

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne; University of York (2005 BA (Hons) History and Politics); University of Leeds (2007 LLM Law); Gray’s Inn and Inns of Court School of Law (2008 Bar Vocational Course, 2007 Inaugural Gray’s Inn ICSL Scholarship winner).