Katharine’s practice focuses on commercial, employment, insolvency and public/constitutional law. She has appeared both led and unled in the High Court, and led in the Court of Appeal and Privy Council. Katharine appears regularly in the County Court and Employment Tribunals on a range of matters such as trials, interim applications (including for urgent injunctive relief), preliminary hearings, and costs and case management conferences. Katharine is also a member of the Attorney General’s Junior Junior panel of counsel.

Expertise

Katharine has considerable experience advising on employment law. She worked as a Consultant to Withers LLP between September 2021 and March 2022, where she was involved in matters concerning breach of contract (including post-termination restrictions), bonus and other contractual disputes, unfair and constructive unfair dismissal, partnership and shareholder disputes, whistleblowing and discrimination. Prior to commencing pupillage, she worked for over a year as an paralegal with the employment team at Withers LLP.

Katharine appears regularly in the Employment Tribunal and advises on claims involving unfair dismissal, discrimination, TUPE and worker status. She also has experience of judicial mediation and negotiations. Katharine acts for both employers and employees and is particularly well-placed to advise on employment claims litigated in the civil courts, including breach of contract claims and those where there is a potential personal injury and/or common law negligence component. Katharine is currently acting (led by Tom Poole KC) in a High Court claim involving claims for breach of contract and/or wrongful dismissal, infringement of privacy rights and consequential losses.

During pupillage, Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in a 10-day Employment Tribunal hearing involving allegations of sexual harassment, victimisation and unfair dismissal; she also assisted Tom in connection with advisory work addressing unlawful deduction from wages and the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Under supervision, Katharine assisted on a variety of complex employment matters, which often raised discrimination and data protection considerations. Katharine co-wrote an article for the International Employment Lawyer on how employers can prepare for an emerging AI regulatory landscape and recently delivered a presentation to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s enforcement team on artificial intelligence and algorithmic bias in the employment context.

Katharine is developing a broad practice encompassing all aspects of commercial, company and insolvency litigation and advisory work. Katharine’s current work includes advising on civil fraud, partnership disputes and complex contractual disputes, often with an international element involving banks and other financial institutions. Katharine is regularly instructed to appear in winding up and bankruptcy petitions, and she has recent experience advising office-holders in connection with potential claims against company officers involving breach of fiduciary/statutory duty, misfeasance and antecedent transactions (both in this jurisdiction and in Gibraltar).

Katharine is well placed to advise on the intersection of employment and commercial law. Katharine recently worked for Richard Samuel in an unfair prejudice petition concerning the scope of directors’ duties under the Companies Act 2006 in the context of historic allegations of racism and discrimination (Re Prospect Place (Wimbledon) Management Co Ltd [2022] EWHC 76 (Ch)). Katharine is currently led by Thomas Roe KC in a breach of contract claim proceeding in the Technology & Construction Court and involving technical underlying evidence and complex arguments on foreseeability and loss. Katharine is also currently led by Peter Knox KC in a breach of contract claim involving financial services/banking parties and in which judgment is awaited from the Court of Appeal.

Katharine regularly appears in the County Court and advises on a range of general commercial disputes involving breach of contract, frustration and the enforceability of force majeure clauses.

During pupillage, Katharine worked on a variety of commercial, company and insolvency disputes, including:

  • Assisting Simon Davenport KC and Phil Judd in a high value bankruptcy action arising from disputed judgments obtained in Russia.
  • Assisting Tom Poole KC and Emily Moore in connection with a breach of contract and unlawful means conspiracy claim.
  • Assisting Tom Poole KC in drafting a claim for misuse of confidential information, unlawful means conspiracy and dishonest assistance.
  • Assisting Tom Poole KC in a complex unfair prejudice petition involving allegations of conflict of interest, breaches of statutory duty, fiduciary, and common law director’s duties.
  • Assisting Rupert Butler in the 10-week directors’ disqualification trial arising out of the collapse of the high-profile children’s charity, Kids Company. Katharine co-wrote an article for the New Law Journal, Third Sector Protector, on the implications of Mrs Justice Falk’s judgment for the charity sector more broadly.

Katharine is a member of the Attorney General’s Junior Junior Scheme. She is particularly interested in public and constitutional law.

Katharine was led by Howard Stevens KC (Head of Chambers) in October 2022 in an appeal from Trinidad and Tobago concerning the scope of constitutional vindicatory damages. Katharine is also currently led by Robert Strang in another appeal from Trinidad and Tobago concerning a disputed conveyance of land, which will be argued before the Board in March 2023.

Katharine also gained experience during pupillage assisting Leading Counsel in Chambers on constitutional law cases before the Privy Council, including the following matters:

  • Duncan and Jokhan v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [2021] UKPC 17. Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in drafting the Respondent’s Written Case in an appeal concerning whether there was a violation of the Appellants’ rights under section 4(a) of the Constitution not to be deprived of liberty and security of the person except by due process of law.
  • Betaudier v Attornery General of Trinidad and Tobago [2021] UKPC 7. Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in drafting the Respondent’s Written Case in an appeal concerning the lawfulness of the Appellant’s arrest and subsequent detention.
  • Katharine assisted Thomas Roe QC in preparing the Respondent’s Written Case for an appeal concerning apparent bias and the scope of the protection afforded by sections 4(a) and 5(2)(f)(ii) of the Constitution.

During pupillage, Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in connection with a judicial review of the Government’s support package to universities and further education colleges in the wake of COVID-19.

Katharine is instructed as junior counsel to the Iraq Fatality Investigations, established following R (Ali Mousa and others) v Secretary of State for Defence [2013] EWHC 1412 (Admin) in order to meet the state’s obligations under Article 2 of the ECHR. Katharine’s role involves assisting leading junior counsel to the Inquiry in connection with investigations into the deaths of Radhi Nama and Mousa Ali (two detained civilians who deaths involve allegations of ill treatment at a British army base near Basrah in May 2003) and Ahmed Jabbar Kareem Ali (an investigation concerned with identifying whether there was a systemic practice of ‘wetting’ as a law-enforcement mechanism in the post-war phase of British Occupation in 2003).

Katharine is instructed in a range of property matters (both residential and commercial), including claims for interim and final injunctive relief and Part 8 claims. She recently appeared unled in the High Court defending a complex, multi-party urgent application for injunctive relief arising out of allegations of nuisance, trespass and harassment. Katharine is regularly instructed to advise and act in possession claims (including claims against trespassers), business tenancy disputes and disputes concerning trusts of land and co-ownership. She also has a busy paperwork practice in these areas.

During pupillage, Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in the legally significant Privy Council case of Gordon v Havener (Antigua and Barbuda) [2021] UKPC 26, in which Lord Burrows clarified the law of proprietary estoppel as it relates to contract-breakers.

Katharine is instructed in a range of professional negligence claims and is well placed to advise on claims involving underlying employment, personal injury or property law considerations. Katharine is currently instructed to advise on behalf of the Claimant in a claim against former surveyors where the Claimant suffered significant loss flowing from inaccurate advice on the demarcation of boundaries. Katharine has also acted as junior in claim for damages arising from misconduct of litigation/settlement at an undervalue in a case involving a high-value equal pay claim. Also as a junior, Katharine has drafted a substantial schedule of loss in connection with the misconduct of litigation of an underlying claim for serious personal injury, which was ultimately settled.

Katharine is regularly instructed in matters involving the Package Travel Regulations (1992 and 2018), including fast / multi track trials, interim applications, and costs and case management conferences. She also maintains a busy paperwork practice in this area, drafting advices (eg. on jurisdictional and procedural points or quantum), pleadings, and schedules of loss. Katharine also represents various airlines in passenger claims for compensation under the EU Denied Boarding Regulations (EC Regulation 261/2004).

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Please contact us either by telephone: +44 (0)20 7415 7800 or email: clerks@3harecourt.com

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