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Hilary is a consultant in the Employment Department.
She has nearly 20 years’ experience in employment law, and in 2009 was appointed a part-time Employment Judge at the Central London Employment Tribunal. She also maintains a busy practice, currently acting mainly for clients in the transport sector but during her career has advised retailers, investors, and those in hospitality and professional services. Having worked in-house for one of the world’s leading service providers, she is comfortable advising businesses in industries as diverse as prisons, the armed forces, hospitals and the organisers of major sporting events.
Hilary acts for companies of all sizes, from a small team with no in-house HR or legal capacity to global businesses, and for senior executives, and enjoys advocacy (at ET and EAT level) as well as advising on contentious and non-contentious matters. Her emphasis is on practical solutions, with one client describing her as “highly knowledgeable with the ability to distil her comments in order to focus on the salient points… balances legal input with a pragmatic business perspective “. She has overseen cases in every Employment Tribunal and EAT in the UK, as well as the Court of Appeal, and is described as “on a par with the very best”.
As a founder member of Sodexo’s Diversity Council, Hilary has lectured extensively on diversity and inclusion. She is also recognised as a TUPE expert, both in business acquisitions and service provision transfers, and has considerable experience of dealing with unions and employee consultative bodies. Hilary enjoys public speaking, with recent topics including “Effective Absence Management”, “Ten tips on compromise agreements” and “Going Global – the employment law implications of expansion”.
Career history
2011 Magrath LLP
2010-2011 – Partner, Kervin and Barnes Ltd
2007-2010 – Sodexo Limited
2002-2007 – Partner, Kimbells LLP
2000-2002 – Taylor Walton
1997-2000 – Langley & Co
1992-1997 – Masons
Interests
Hilary lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two sons, acting as unpaid taxi service to the latter, and enjoying supporting them at their various sporting events. She loves cooking for her family and is compiling her own recipe book. A fluent French speaker, she travels extensively in France. She is a reluctant participant at aerobics and swims regularly.