The ‘stellar’ and ’attentive and professional’ team at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP regularly advises employers and listed companies across the financial services and video games sectors including household names such as Sony PlayStation. The practice is co-headed by Nick Hurley, who has a contentious and non-contentious employment practice which includes handling discrimination, TUPE and reorganisation matters, and the ‘hugely impressive’ Ben Smith, who often represents clients in the charities and not-for-profit sectors and has significant experience with Employment Tribunal litigation. Emily Chalkley specialises in transaction-related employment matters and litigation concerning sex discrimination and equal pay claims, and is praised as a ’rising star and hardworking with terrific judgment’. The ‘approachable’ Rachel Hearn frequently acts for senior executives on a range of employment issues including employee exits, disciplinary issues, grievances and redundancies.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘A stellar employment team with exceptional judgment and hard-hitting cases. They are hard-working, strategic, and highly commercial. They understand the needs of their clients well. The employment team is approachable with bags of common sense and loads of energy.’
‘Ben Smith is a go-to partner and knows everything there is to know in this area. He is amazing with people and the law and takes sensible and pragmatic decisions. It is not about show boating, it is always about the client, front and centre. Emily Chalkley is a rising star and hard working with terrific judgment.’
‘I have mainly used the team for employment matters and usually the more complex ones. I have found the team very responsive with excellent communication throughout engagements including urgent enquiries. This is much better than a number of other firms that I have used in the past. The team all work closely together and this is also a reason that matters are dealt with efficiently and effectively. In summary, the differential I find to other legal firms is the quality of the people, who are good communicators and go the extra mile for their clients. I would also note that it didn't matter if I was requiring support as the CEO of the business or someone from admin. The response and service was the same exemplary standard.’
‘Ben Smith is extremely responsive and understanding of the position of the client. Ben is very quick in providing a summary of the company's position, possible remedies and potential outcomes. This is so helpful in planning the approach. Rachel Hearn is possibly one of the most approachable lawyers I have come across in my career. She understands the demands of the business and is able to respond accordingly. Rachel has taken time to understand the business, some of the leaders, and dealt with all matters very efficiently and with extremely good grace despite significant pressures.’
‘They deliver quality work with a personal touch and are attentive and professional.’
‘Ben Smith is a hugely impressive partner, who frets for his clients, leaving no stone unturned to deliver results.’
‘The employment team has a great combination of technical expertise in statutory law and strategic nous which, coupled with excellent client handling skills, makes it an obvious choice for a lot of companies and organisations. They are also attractive to claimants with high value claims for the same reasons.’
‘Emily Chalkley is calm, knows her case load really well, provides careful and considerate instructions to counsel, and wins trust of her clients. She is always very attentive and pragmatic with her advice.’
Key clients
- Rapha Racing
- Amundi Asset Management
- Nike
- Framatome BHR Limited
- Sony Playstation
- Just Group plc
- C. Hoare & Co
- Dementia UK
- Margarete Steiff GmbH
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Nick Hurley, Ben Smith