Employment Law Partner at Moore Kingston Smith in London, England, GB

Moore SGD Law is a dynamic law firm offering a full range of legal services, uniquely positioned to help SMEs and other owner-managed businesses, families and individuals realise their ambitions.

Our Employment Law team supports employers, senior executives and business owners with the full range of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters. We provide clear, pragmatic legal advice that helps clients manage workforce challenges, protect value and make commercially sound decisions in often sensitive situations.

As part of the wider Moore Kingston Smith Group, we work closely with colleagues across HR consultancy, tax, corporate finance, outsourcing and wider advisory services to deliver integrated solutions for clients. This collaborative approach creates opportunities to deliver joined-up support where employment law intersects with transactions, incentives, restructuring, governance, investigations and business change.

We are now looking for an experienced Partner to lead and develop our Employment Law offering. This is a significant opportunity to shape the strategic direction and growth of the practice, bring your own ideas, relationships and market profile, and strengthen the firm's employment proposition across Moore SGD Law and the wider MKS group and our Moore Global international network.

In addition to setting the strategic direction, you will play a hands-on leadership role - managing key client relationships, driving business development and cross-referral opportunities, supervising and developing lawyers, ensuring high standards of technical quality and risk management and representing the team across the firm and in the market.

The successful candidate will also contribute to the ongoing development of the firm's Employment Law offering, including service innovation, legal technology and AI-enabled solutions, helping to enhance client service, operational efficiency and the overall client experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Employment Law practice, including shaping the service proposition, growth strategy, profitability, market positioning and delivery of the firm's wider Employer Services offering;
• Advise employers, owner-managed businesses, senior executives and business owners on strategic, contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, acting as a trusted adviser on legal, commercial and people-related issues;
• Support colleagues across the Group on employment aspects of corporate transactions and related due diligence, restructurings, employee incentive arrangements, employee ownership structures, senior exits, TUPE and wider workforce- risk;
• Lead on sensitive workplace matters, including investigations, disciplinary and grievance processes, whistleblowing concerns, redundancies, negotiated exits, settlement agreements and Employment Tribunal litigation;
• Develop and maintain a strong internal relationships across, HR Consultancy, Corporate, Employment Tax, Outsourcing and Advisory teams as part of the firm's holistic offering to clients;
• Lead, mentor and develop junior lawyers and other team members through supervision, coaching, technical training, workflow management and support for career progression;
• Maintain high standards of risk management, supervision and quality assurance, including compliance with the firm's four-eyes review procedures and professional obligations where relevant;
• Take responsibility for the financial performance of matters and the wider practice, including fee proposals, budgeting, billing, recovery, aged WIP, credit control and achievement of agreed financial targets;
• Lead business development and thought leadership initiatives, including client relationship management, preparing articles and commentary, speaking at seminars and webinars, contributing to digital content, and raising the profile of the firm and Employment team within the market and wider Moore network; and
• Drive innovation within the Employment practice, including the adoption of legal technology, AI-enabled service delivery and operational improvements that enhance client experience and team efficiency.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Significant post-qualification experience advising on employment law matters in England and Wales, ideally gained in a leading law firm or professional services environment;
• Strong technical capability across the full employment lifecycle, including recruitment, contracts and policies, employee relations, performance management, disciplinary and grievance processes, sickness absence, redundancy and exits including executive employment matters, business reorganisations, workforce change programmes and strategic people-related risk;
• Confidence advising employers, owner-managed businesses, boards, founders and senior executives on commercially sensitive and reputationally important employment matters;
• Experience leading and managing Employment Tribunal litigation and complex employment disputes;
• Ability to draft, review and negotiate employment contracts, service agreements, consultancy arrangements, handbooks, policies, settlement agreements and restrictive covenants;
• Demonstrate experience advising on TUPE, collective consultation and the employment aspects of corporate transactions including due diligence, warranties, indemnities, restructurings, integrations and business transformation programmes;
• Ability to advise on senior executive appointments and exits, boardroom disputes, team moves, restrictive covenant enforcement, fiduciary duty issues and protection of confidential information;
• Experience leading and advising on workplace investigations, protected conversations, without prejudice negotiations and complex employee relations matters;
• Commercially pragmatic judgement, with the ability to balance legal risk, operational realities, client relationships and reputational, regulatory and financial considerations;
• Strong relationship-building skills and the credibility to originate, win and develop work through internal collaboration, referral networks and direct client relationships;
• Proven ability to supervise, mentor and develop lawyers and other professional team members while maintaining high standards of technical quality, matter management and client service;
• Demonstrable track record of business development, thought leadership, client relationship management and raising the profile of the Employment practice within the market;
• Strong commercial awareness, including experience managing profitability, billing, recovery and financial performance of matters and client relationships;
• Demonstrable ability to identify opportunities to provide integrated legal and advisory services through collaboration with colleagues across a multidisciplinary professional services environment; and
• Interest in and ability to leverage legal technology, AI and innovative service delivery solutions to enhance client outcomes and operational efficiency.