Jonathan Chamberlain

I lead the international and business protection practices in the Employment team and advise on all aspects of employment law.

Tel: +44 (0)870 733 0581

Email: jonathan_chamberlain@wragge.com

Best brains in ...

As business goes global, companies face the challenge of creating an integrated global workforce. I'm very good at guiding employers through pan-European employee projects such as re-structurings, implementing common policies and employment conditions. I only advise on English law, but thanks to the established and strong relationships we have with leading employment lawyers in the EU, I can co-ordinate these projects and help increase understanding of the issues and solutions in countries other than the UK.

At the same time, I'm good at understanding the cultural and people issues in a workplace. This means I can always set the legal advice in a real, human context; whether it's the boardroom, the office or the shop floor. Emotional intelligence is key for employers to succeed and I bring that emotional intelligence to bear on legal and practical problems.

I have built a lot of experience in protecting businesses from unfair competition from former employees. It's a field where you have to move fast, both practically and in the legal process, if you're going to stop the damage.

Highlight of your career so far?

When we stopped a former Dyson design engineer from working in vacuum cleaners for his new employer, Black & Decker, for 12 months after he left. It was a hard-fought litigation. Dyson has built its massive success on innovation and it felt very special to be part of the team that helped protect that innovation.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

Either the Dyson case or helping to defend a global car manufacturer against a race discrimination claim, where the claimant was backed by his trade union as part of a wider campaign against the company.

What about outside the UK?

I lead lawyers from six other EU countries in training senior managers in a global telecomms company in the employment aspects of managing pan-EU outsourcing projects. With completely different cultural perspectives and legal backgrounds, just getting everyone to understand each others' issues is difficult enough, but working through a common solution is a real challenge.

What's your definition of going the extra mile... And when have you done it?

As an employment lawyer, it's about looking forward to the future for clients and not just thinking about the past. It's about spotting trends and alerting clients to what new case law and legislation means for their operations and, quite often, their strategy.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

Coming up with a form of words for a client's standard employee reference that would prevent some former employees re-appearing as temporary agency workers. But at the same time, kept the employer away from any discrimination legislation risks.

When have you ever given a client a real competitive edge?

We rescued 27,000 highly confidential documents which belonged to our client, a global broker and one of the largest players in its multi-billion-dollar market. This was from a former employee's computer who had taken them on the day he'd resigned by use of a portable hard-drive. This stopped the client from losing its competitive edge.

What's your single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

I'm a primary school governor and Wragge & Co is generous with the time it gives me for these responsibilities.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

'Makes clients purr'. Legal 500.