Solicitor – qualified in Scotland 2011
Overview
I’m a Partner, specialising in both Employment and Immigration Law, and I play an active role in the Employment Lawyers Association and the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA).
In addition to providing HR support to clients in a wide range of sectors on matters such as executive terminations, TUPE, whistleblowing, IR35 and redundancies, I have extensive experience of defending large scale, multi-party, complex Employment Tribunal claims. The more complicated and involved the cases are, the more I enjoy them! That’s one of the reasons why I’ve specialised in discrimination claims and have particular expertise in dealing with Employment Tribunal claims that have anonymity and national security considerations. I’ve also spent years personally advocating for both Claimants and Respondents in the ET, the EAT and I’ve even tried my hand at civil litigation, debating issues regarding confidentiality and legal privilege in the Sheriff Court in Scotland. Having that first hand court and Tribunal experience has really honed my negotiation and litigation skills and I’m always ready ‘to go to bat’ for my clients.
In addition to my employment law work, I have spent more than 10 years helping both individuals and businesses navigate the complex and ever-changing UK Immigration Rules.
With the end of Free-movement and immigration rules and guidance, which seem to change every 2 minutes, it is absolutely essential for businesses to be on top of their immigration options and obligations if they wish to secure their place in the market. For businesses, I provide bespoke advice and support in relation to right to work checks, Sponsor Licence applications and compliance, and Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility visas. I also assist clients with future-proofing their foreign national workforce by keeping them up-to-date with key immigration law changes and securing pragmatic and commercial solutions to their current and potential immigration issues. In addition, I provide Level 1 User compliance support to large and busy businesses, ensuring they manage their Sponsor Management System (SMS) effectively in order to comply with their sponsor obligations. This means I’m always up to speed on the current UK immigration laws and the UK Visas and Immigration systems.
Additionally, I frequently assist individuals with their immigration needs, including preparing and submitting applications for Innovator and Global Talent visas, successfully resolving complicated family visa issues and handling matters relating to refusal of in-country and out of country applications such as challenging 10-year entry bans. I have been privileged to represent countless individuals and families in the First-Tier Immigration Tribunal, in relation to Asylum, Human Rights and revocation of British citizenship appeals. I have also successfully litigated applications for administrative and judicial review and represented clients at both bail and deportation hearings.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to step in and assist people and their families in some of the most stressful and frightening periods of their lives. It is why I greatly enjoyed being part of Michelmores’ pro bono partnership with Citizen’s Advice Bureaux and it was also the main motivator of setting up and driving forward Michelmores’ pro bono Ukraine advice project, which saw our immigration team assist those affected by the war in Ukraine.
As cliched as it sounds, I absolutely love the areas of law in which I specialise. I get to meet some of the most fascinating and accomplished people and I work with super unique and successful businesses. There is no greater thrill than immersing myself in their world to solve their problems in a way that is most beneficial to them! How great is that?!
Recent experience
Leading on ET claims for a major police force, successfully defending two concurrent complex Employment Tribunal claims from the same former officer. The first claim related to disability discrimination, which allegedly spanned a 4 year period. This claim involved classified information and therefore it was necessary to negotiate a private hearing, anonymity for the parties and restricted reporting. The second claim involved a secondary Respondent who was a representative of a union. The claim was for harassment, discrimination on the basis of sex, race and religion or belied and vicarious liability.
Successful defence of a claim of sexual harassment, and discrimination on the basis of sex and disability for a large scale public sector organisation. This involved extensive negotiations with the client’s partnership organisations. The Claimant had extensive health, wellbeing, and absence issues and therefore it was necessary to adjust the litigation process and strategy to take account of this.
Drafting home and hybrid working contracts of employments and policies for an international third sector client to facilitate the changes to their structure, which had been forced by the pandemic. Once drafted, Lynsey guided and supported the client through the implementation of these documents across their UK based workforce.
Advising and supporting a large third sector client with the exit of their CEO on performance grounds and their response to his linked grievance.
Advising a private company with the restructure of their Group and the associated closure of two of their Scottish based companies. This required input in relation to TUPE, redundancy, harmonisation of terms, performance concerns and grievance procedures.
Spearheading both the firm’s pro bono immigration advisory service to assist those affected by the war in Ukraine, and the pro bono employment advisory programme in conjunction with the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux to assist members of the community with their employment issues.
