While some types of employment advice crop up across all enterprises, professional services businesses do throw up an additional and distinct set of issues and considerations. These are fundamentally relationship businesses and it shows in the type of challenges that arise.

People problems in this sector often come along with a side helping of regulatory challenges, the absolute necessity for reputational protection and the complications of over-riding third party obligations to clients and others. The LLP or partnership structure of many professions also adds a layer of complexity.

Business protection considerations and misuse of confidential information become paramount when a departee or team can walk out the door with half of the business.

We have plenty of experience in partnering with law firms both for their internal advice and for client support. We all came from well-known City practices and we represent several international law firms, large accountancy practices and a broad range of other professional businesses.

Our experience in this sector include:

• Advising one of the largest law firms in the world on its merger with another UK firm and related restructuring;
• Supporting a number of law firms with employment transactional support on work for their clients in M&A and investments;
• Advising on the closure of the London office of an international professional services firm and associated collective redundancies;
• Advising on the complex employment law implications under TUPE and collective redundancy consultation in connection with an insolvent professional services firm;
• Day to day advice on partnership and employment issues for a major law firm;
• Successfully defending a professional services firm against claims brought by an employee, resulting in a confidential settlement;
• Processing and advising on a series of Data Subject Access Requests for a legal services business in the context of underlying disputes.