Constantine Law expands employment practice with recruitment of Catherine Wilson as partner

Constantine Law, the consultant-led "agile" employment and regulatory specialist law firm, has recruited a new partner, Catherine Wilson, to its growing employment team. The appointment takes Constantine Law's headcount to 14 partners and a total of 20 fee-earning staff - including 11 specialist employment partners.

Catherine joins Constantine Law after previously serving as a Partner and Head of Employment teams at Eversheds, Squire Patton Boggs, and most recently, Keebles in Sheffield. She was also the Director of Legal Services at employment law consultancy Ellis Whittam (now Worknest), running their 60-strong employment team based in Chester, Glasgow, and home-working since 2016. She managed the opening of the Glasgow office in February 2017, including the recruitment and induction of lawyers and support staff.

Catherine has an established reputation in employment law and covers the full remit of both contentious and non-contentious advice. She has been described in Chambers & Partners as "a Fine Performer" and has a track record of providing high-quality legal services to corporate and high-net-worth private clients.

She has acted for clients across various private and public sectors, including retail, recruitment, charities, manufacturing, logistics, rural estates, and agri-businesses. Catherine continues to advise high-net-worth individuals on family office issues and senior executive severances. As a former barrister, she has particular expertise in advocacy, discrimination, whistleblowing, corporate restructures, and redundancies.

Recent experience includes:

• Advising a leading retailer and furniture manufacturer on a 10-day multi-disability and age discrimination Employment Tribunal scheduled for January 2025.
• Ongoing advice to a multinational engineering business on a multi-site closure and associated Trade Union consultations.
• Advising a Scottish rural estate on the implications of Agricultural Wages Board recommendations and complex disability and related housing claims.

Catherine also has significant experience as a speaker and writer on employment matters for various organizations and publications, including CLT, Sirius Search, Pratap Partners, Association of Colleges, UKTI, CBI, LexisNexis, People Management, and IBA Global Insight.

Commenting on the new appointment, Managing Partner John Hayes said, "We warmly welcome Catherine to the firm. Her wide-ranging experience brings added depth and gravitas to our growing employment team. She joins us hot on the heels of the arrival of employment partner Fiona Hewitt and new solicitor, Emma Dunbar, who joined in April. Our ability to recruit partners of such caliber illustrates the attractions of working for a progressive, collegiate firm like ours without the fixed costs and targets of many firms. Our lawyers have the freedom to work and develop their work in a way that suits them best."

"This blend of experience, depth, and agility sets us apart from other firms, and we are looking to continue to hire highly rated employment and regulatory lawyers to further develop our business."