Richard Hignett > Chambers of Adrian Keeling KC and Jonathan Jones KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Chambers of Adrian Keeling KC and Jonathan Jones KC
No5 Barristers' Chambers
Fifth Floor, 7 Savoy Court
London
WC2R 0EX
England

Work Department

Employment

Position

Overview

Richard practises exclusively in the field of employment and discrimination law. He is instructed by a wide range of clients in both the public and private sectors. Richard served as Head of Employment Law at No5 Chambers between 2012 – 2018.

 

Practice and Experience
20 years plus experience of advising and acting for clients on employment law matters
Undertakes all aspects of employment law with an emphasis on discrimination, contractual disputes and whistleblowing
Standing counsel to an international logistics company, a broking house, a high street retailer, a brewery chain, a car manufacturer, a constabulary, several NHS Trusts and a local authority
Regularly appears in Employment Tribunals up and down the country
Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal experience
Presents to solicitors and heads of HR on a wide range of employment law related issues
Trains managers in equality practises and how to recognise unconscious bias
Licensed to undertake Public Access Work
Richard acts as a barrister mentor for the citizenship foundation
Particular Areas of Expertise
 
High-value complex claims, Whistleblowing, Interim relief, Disability discrimination, Sexual harassment, TUPE, Professional disciplinary tribunals, Professional misconduct of healthcare staff.
Sector Experience
Retail, Fashion, Banking, Finance, Leisure, Healthcare, Education, Social Care, local government, Police, Fire and Rescue, NHS, Airlines, Financial services.
Investigations
Richard is an experienced investigator. He has undertaken investigations in the education sector, social services and legal sectors. Recent investigations include a complex sexual harassment complaint and infighting amongst staff in a stately home.

Career

Called 1995.

Memberships

Employment Lawyers Association; Employment Law and Bar Association; Industrial Law Society; Employment Law Advice & Assistance Scheme.

Lawyer Rankings

Regional Bar > Midland Circuit > Employment

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2

Richard Hignett – No5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Richard is very personable and makes a real effort to get to know clients. He is quick to familiarise himself with the intricate factual details of a case and great at explaining complex legal issues to clients. Richard’s cross-examination technique is highly effective and he is a master at extracting key details and admissions from witnesses to support his arguments. He really gets under the skin of a claim and is a fabulous advocate.’

No5 Barristers’ Chambers is well known as a ‘strong employment set with a good choice of counsel across all years of call’. Helen Barney is regularly instructed by NHS trusts, local authorities, and private companies, with strength handling grievance investigations. Charles Crow, praised for his ‘strong and persuasive advocacy skills’, has considerable experience in the healthcare, social care, education, housing, and banking sectors. With broad expertise covering TUPE, equal pay, and discrimination claims, Mugni Islam-Choudhury leads the team. He has recently been instructed by the respondent in Basra v University of East London, defending against 75 separate allegations of sex and race discrimination brought by a lecturer in the creative writing department. In 2023 ‘fabulous advocate’ Richard Hignett acted for the claimant in Record v Barclays Bank, a sex discrimination claim brought by a senior wealth manager dismissed for gross misconduct following allegations of sexual harassment by female colleagues.