Region Area

Barristers

Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith

11KBW, London

Position

Barrister at 11KBW (2008 call, Lincoln’s Inn)

Career

Andrew is ranked as a leading junior barrister in the fields of employment and sport law.  He has previously been shortlisted by Legal 500 for employment junior of the year.

Employment

Andrew is instructed to appear in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and High Court in complex and high value employment claims.

His ET work commonly involves discrimination and whistleblowing claims, as well as those relating to employment status, TUPE issues, agency workers and holiday pay (amongst others).

Andrew has appeared in the Court of Appeal in the high profile cases of:

Smith v Pimlico Plumbers [2022] IRLR 347, re: the nature and extent of ‘carry over’ rights in respect of annual leave; Kong v Gulf International Bank [2022] IRLR 854, re: the ‘separability principle’ and its application to claims of automatically unfair dismissal because of whistleblowing; and Mackenzie v AA [2022] IRLR 985, re: the application of the ‘least burdensome’ performance rule in assessing damages for wrongful dismissal.

Andrew’s High Court practice encompasses a broad range of employment-related litigation, including ‘team move’ cases and disputes concerning restrictive covenants, bonus payments, obligations of confidence and fiduciary duties.  He also has experience of LCIA arbitration.

Sport

Andrew is instructed to act in sports arbitrations, disciplinary and other proceedings (including before the Professional Football Compensation Committee), acting for a wide range of clients including players, athletes, managers, officials, clubs, intermediaries / agents and governing bodies.

In addition to his work as an advocate, Andrew has been appointed to sit as a Rule K arbitrator and as a member of an EFL arbitration appeal panel.  Andrew is a member of Sport Resolutions’ panel of arbitrators and its panel of pro bono advocates.

Andrew was also appointed by a major sports governing body to conduct an independent grievance investigation arising out of a disputed selection decision for the Olympic Games.

In terms of international work, Andrew has been involved in several cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as well as claims in the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal.  Andrew’s CAS experience includes being appointed as an ad hoc clerk in the high-profile doping appeals brought by 39 Russian athletes in connection with the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Andrew is a long-established member of the LawInSport editorial board, has written many articles for the website, and acts as a Judge in the annual Sports Law Arbitration Moot competition.

Andrew also co-authored three chapters of ‘Football and the Law’ (Bloomsbury Professional), covering the topics of (i) football institutions, (ii) ownership issues and (iii) arbitration in football.

Memberships

Member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Employment Law Bar Association

Editorial board member of LawInSport

Education

Sheffield University – LLB (1st), 2006

Manchester Metropolitan University – Bar Course (outstanding), 2008

Mentions

London Bar

Employment

Leading junior2
Andrew Smith – 11KBW 'A clear, robust and persuasive advocate.'
London Bar

Sport

Leading junior3
Andrew Smith – 11KBW ‘Very friendly, approachable and happy to help. Quickly grasped the complexity of the case but, rather than drowning in the legal issues, his advice was always very straightforward with a strong emphasis on the best commercial approach for the client.’