Rory is a Senior Associate who specialises in both employment and corporate immigration law. Rory has developed a reputation amongst the firm's client-base for his commercially minded and pragmatic advice and he enjoys building a good rapport with senior leaders, in-house lawyers, human resource professionals, global mobility experts, and those operating in talent acquisition roles.
Whilst he works across a range of sectors such as financial services and investment, technology, sports, and retail, Rory has a particular interest in the mobility sector and is regularly instructed to act on behalf of clients operating in this space in relation to strategic exits, restructure and redundancy projects, data subject access requests, complex disciplinary and grievance matters, sensitive sickness absence management issues, performance concerns, right to work checks, pre-claim conciliation negotiations, and litigious matters in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal. As a corporate immigration specialist, Rory also assists clients with the recruitment and retention of global talent and is experienced in making sponsor licence, skilled worker, global business mobility, and international sportsperson visa applications.
Examples of Rory's recent works include:
- advising an international investment firm on the strategic exit of senior leaders, including drafting and negotiating complex settlement agreements containing share option provisions, long-term incentive payments, early resignation clauses, signifcant severance payments, reaffirmation provisions, and cross-jurisdictional considerations;
- advising a global healthcare organisation in response to sensitive allegations of discrimination and harassment within the senior management team, and dealing with a subsequent exit by way of settlement agreement;
- assisting a multinational manufacturing business in its to defence to complaints of unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment within the Employment Tribunal, which also involved alleged fraud and the misappropriation of company funds;
- representing a Premier League football club in the recruitment of their overseas players, managers, coaches and backroom staff;
- advising a world-leading agricultural business on their obligations as an employer in respect of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010;
- assigning certificates of sponsorship on behalf of the UK’s largest independent fibre operator;
- advising a multinational retail conglomerate on the introduction of their new right to work policy which impacted over 12,000 employees in the UK;
- representing one of the largest independent music production and record companies in the UK on the sponsorship of top global talent;
- assisting with the restructure of a multi-national household cleaning manufacturer by negotiating the exit of multiple individuals across the organisation; and
- making various applications for strike out and for unless orders in the Employment Tribunal and the objection of various applications in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, relating to claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
Rory is a member of the firm's mobility sector subcommittee and he is often invited by clients, groups, and forums operating within this sector to speak at events and provide legal updates. He has hosted several in-person and online roundtable discussions and is the author and host of the firms annual webinar on right to work checks.
Rory is a member of the Emplyment Lawyers Association (ELA) and the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA).
Rory is ranked as a Leading Associate by the Legal 500 legal directory.