Emma is an employment and partnership lawyer with extensive expertise in employment litigation, corporate transactions and advisory work.
She has advised organisations and senior individuals for 20 years and works with clients across a range of sectors and jurisdictions (including legal, financial, property, education, advertising and energy).
Her employment specialisms include advising on strategic HR projects, redundancy-related issues, employment contracts and handbooks, sensitive terminations including representing senior executives accused of misconduct, team moves and restrictive covenants, performance management, unfair dismissals, discrimination law and regularly advises on complex whistleblowing cases. She is also an expert on maternity law and family-friendly rights.
Emma was elected to the Management Committee of the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) in 2020 and has been an active member of ELA’s training committee for 10 years.
Expertise
- Strategic advice to overseas companies setting up in the UK
- Advising SMEs on all areas of employment law
- Executive and partner appointments including new contract reviews
- Termination packages, settlement agreements and restrictive covenants
- Internal HR processes and investigations including disciplinary and grievances
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Employment law in corporate transactions and TUPE obligations
- Discrimination and whistleblowing litigation
- Restructurings
- Assisting overseas senior executives on all aspects of their moves to UK positions
Experience
Contentious
Successfully led and managed Employment Tribunal proceedings including:
- Defended a claim for an energy company of perceived religious discrimination (claim settled out of court)
- Acted for senior executives in the banking and legal sector regarding maternity and pregnancy discrimination claims (with claims settled for substantial six-figure sums)
- Defended claims for manufacturing company regarding alleged failure to inform and consult under TUPE and automatic unfair dismissal claims
- Brought successful claims for disability discrimination against a local authority
- Brought successful claims for unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages for senior individuals
- Conducted claims for discrimination, whistleblowing, restrictive covenants, injunctions and unfair dismissal claims
- Provided confidential advice regarding potential restructuring and whistleblowing matters for a private school
- Successfully advised client on an ongoing potential unfair dismissal and a complex disability discrimination claim against a multi national corporation
Non-contentious
- Negotiated appointments, terminations and settlement agreements on behalf of both employees and employers
- Drafted contracts, policies and handbooks
- Advised on flexible-working and family-friendly rights
- Advised on managing out poor performers
- Advised on long-term sickness absence
- Advised private schools on removing senior staff
- Facilitated amicable exits for partners and LLP members on behalf of both the individuals and the firms
- Advised on the implementation of the GDPR
- Successfully managed team moves in the legal and insurance sectors
- Advised international organisations on setting up in the UK and overseas
- Trained teams on UK employment law and on diversity in the workplace
- Regularly worked with colleagues to advise senior executives on complex remuneration structures related to their entry or exit in the financial services industry
- Carried out three client secondments including:
- 3 months as the in-house employment lawyer in an oil and gas plc;
- 6 months as part of the in-house employment team at an Investment Bank; and
- regular ad hoc secondment days as the employment lawyer within the HR team of an Investment Bank.
Transactional
- Supported corporate lawyers on all aspects of share and asset acquisitions, complex TUPE-related issues, and training for the lawyers and their clients
- Navigated purchasers and administrative receivers through acquiring, selling and running insolvent companies
- Coordinated advice on extensive overseas employment issues
- Provided strategic and successful employment law advice to SME on outsourcing/TUPE issues
Charities
- Advising a religious charity on data protection, dismissals, redundancies
- Acting for a leading UK charity for girls and young women
- Acting for a charity supporting children worldwide
- Acting for a leading global charity that supports the health and education of children
- Advised a global charity supporting safe water and new development programmes
Energy
- Advised a board member of a Middle Eastern oil and gas company on breach of contract, unfair dismissal and whistleblowing claims – currently ongoing in the Employment Tribunal
- Advised a senior employee on his exit from, and settlement agreement with, an Indian oil and gas company which ended up being an amicable departure
- Advised a senior executive of a multinational oil and gas company on the termination of his employment and unfair dismissal rights and currently negotiating amicable terms of exit
- Defended a claim for an energy company of perceived religious discrimination (claim settled out of court)
- Advised a British multinational oil and gas company on day to day employment related matters, grievances, disciplinaries, contract of employment and policy work
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised in The Legal 500 for Employment: Partnership (2020-2024)
Recognised in The Legal 500 for Employment (2020-2024)
Recognised by The Legal 500 for Employment: Senior Executives and Employers (2022-2024)
“Emma Clark has been an outstanding professional. She has been patient, diligent and very human.” The Legal 500 2024
Recognised in Chambers UK for Employment: Senior Executives (2022-2024)
“I have total confidence in Emma’s advice and experience. She is hugely personable and shows great empathy for me as a client.” Chambers UK 2024
“I appreciate her ability to see the big picture as well as to be able to home in on the details that matter.” Chambers UK 2024
“Emma’s level of client engagement, service level and commercial awareness are all excellent. Her advice is always clear, well structured and has regard to the personal aspects.” Chambers UK 2024
“Emma is a very personable individual, with a very strong understanding of our business. She is someone I can rely on giving us well-balanced and pragmatic advice.” Chambers UK 2023
“Emma Clark provides excellent support and advice.” Chambers UK 2023
“Emma Clark is great with clients and a very good employment and partnership lawyer.” The Legal 500 2023
“She has lots of experience and is really user-friendly.” Chambers UK 2022
“Emma Clark is a wonderfully practical adviser – she listens and understands our commercial and organisational realities and responds swiftly with legally robust guidance. Her support has been outstanding on both everyday matters and in more sensitive and challenging situations.” The Legal 500 2022
Career
Emma qualified as a solicitor in 2002. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2018, she worked at the following firms:
- Abbiss Cadres
- Fox & Partners
- Allen & Overy