Katie is a Partner and Head of the Employment team. She has been ranked as a next generation lawyer/rising star in the Legal 500 for the last 5 years. Katie acts for a wide range of clients, from multinational corporations to smaller owner/trustee-managed organisations. Her areas of expertise include defending employment tribunal claims, senior executive appointment, dismissal management and advising upon restrictive covenants. Katie also works closely with our corporate and commercial property teams on the employment aspects of acquisitions, disposals and investments, as well as providing general day-to-day advice and training to clients on all types of employment issues. Katie is an astute negotiator and always seeks to find practical solutions to client problems, giving informed, tailored advice. Her experience of advising across a range of business sectors means that she is conversant with the challenges her clients face and has an empathic drive for supporting clients through often difficult times. Katie is also the head of the education group and uses her invaluable inside knowledge of the workings of independent schools and extensive experience in providing advice to educational establishments to the full advantage of the firm’s sector based clients. Katie is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.
England - South East • Employment
Field Seymour Parkes LLP
The ‘customer-focused, efficient and responsive’ employment team at Field Seymour Parkes LLP has the bandwidth to handle the entire spectrum of strategic employment law matters. Team leader Katie Burley specialises in defending employment tribunal claims, senior executive appointment, dismissal management and advising upon restrictive covenants. She works alongside key employment partner Ian Machray, who is praised as 'knowledgeable and proactive'.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘FSP is very much focused on individualised support, where you get to know the member of the team who is helping you. They have a range of colleaguse they can then refer to as needed. I have found all members of FSP to be knowledgable, approachable, and professional.’
‘Ian Machray always responds quickly, and is incredibly knowledgable and approachable. He gives excellent advice.'
‘Strong team with a strong and varied client list. Supportive of each other. For matters outside of employment (yet which are linked) they are always ready to bring in other departments/individuals to provide an inclusive and rounded response.'
- 'Always ready to listen to perspectives from the HR community and provide "grounded" advice in simple terms, not legalese.’
‘Ian Machray is my go to, he has been exceptional in the advice he has provided, not least walking us through the issues of covid, returning to work but also some tricky individuals.'
- 'Ian Machray keeps a very level head, not only using his huge technical ability, but also advises with a human touch. He is very pragmatic and the solutions/assistance he has offered us when it comes to personnel matters has been second to none.’
‘The Team at FSP are customer focused, efficient, and responsive. They have all the resources and innovations that you would expect from a successful law firm, but it is the people that make the difference. Having worked with a number of employment lawyers over the years, I have found the advice, support and service from FSP exceptional.’
‘The relationship, team are responsive, balanced and pragmatic. Willing to listen and adapt as necessary based on our requirements but always within the legal framework. Provide training sessions for the HR management team to ensure we are up to date with employment legislation or a specific topic that we have identified.’
Key clients
- Whistl
- HR Wallingford
- TP Group Plc
- Superbowl UK
- North
- Operational Solutions Limited
- M S Macbeth Limited
- Hansford Sensors
- Business Moves Group
- Planit Software Testing Limited
Work highlights
- Advising the Whistl UK Limited HR team to resolve all of their internal HR and employment issues.
- Advised Operational Solutions Limited on the employment elements of a multi-million-pound investment from BGF.
- Advised Hansford Sensors with a key change to their shift pattern structure, including the necessary contractual amendments and dealing with general legal implications.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Katie Burley