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Portrait of Nick Humphreys
Areas of expertise: Employment, Sports

Profile

Nick is a partner in the London office specialising in both contentious and non-contentious employment work. He has particular expertise in the international aspects of employment law, industrial relations law and in the employment aspects of sport – particularly professional football. Nick advises on a wide range of HR problems, policies and strategy including the management of large-scale business reorganisations.

His client base includes airlines, telecommunications companies, insurers, commercial shipping clients, cruise companies, yacht sector clients, as well as senior executives and clients in sport. Nick provides a full range of advice that includes document reviews; general employment advice; employment litigation in the High Court, employment tribunal and specialist arbitral tribunals in sport; industrial relations law advice for employers; the employment law aspects of company sales and business transfers; private international law aspects of employment law; and aviation and maritime employment law.

Having qualified in 1999, Nick became a partner at Thomas Cooper, one of the Penningtons Manches Cooper legacy firms, in 2015. Nick is the author of Trade Union Law and Collective Employment Rights (Jordan); an editor of the Sweet & Maxwell Employment Law Encyclopedia; and a contributor to Tolley’s Employment Law Service and Tolley’s Health and Safety Handbook.

Nick is recognised by The Legal 500 as follows: ‘… offers unparalleled client service. Really fights the client’s corner. Coupled with detailed subject matter knowledge and good tactical nous makes for a potent combination’; ‘…may be the hardest-working lawyer in Western Europe. I have seen him handle effectively workloads that would crush an ordinary lawyer. Nothing is too much for a client to ask. He is there when you need him and delivers when he is asked to. He is exceptional’; ‘… knows dispute management inside out’; ‘highly responsive and pragmatic. Clients love him. He really gets results and clients come back time and again. Pleasure to work with’; ‘…can advise on international employment issues and also advises senior sports professionals’; ‘'… astute, gets results and is a – if not the – leading figure in sports disputes with an employment law angle’; ’gives every case his all. You get his energy, his considerable experience, his deft business judgment and his good humour’; …his advice covers all bases and not merely those that relate to litigation’; ‘a really excellent partner’; ‘tactically astute’; ‘hugely experienced’; ‘highly recommended’ and ‘great to have in your corner’.

Recent work highlights

  • Acting for a private equity firm in relation to the high value dismissal of its former head of acquisitions, including undertaking the subsequent litigation, managing a subject access request, dealing with an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and managing the necessary reputation management for the client.
  • Advising a number of Premier League football managers in arbitration proceedings against their former clubs.
  • Advising the former chief executive of a Championship football club on his whistleblowing-related dismissal.
  • Acting for an airline in returning its cabin crew to flying duties and on its vaccination policy following Covid-19.
  • Advising maritime clients in relation to discrimination claims from their customers arising from necessary Covid-19 restrictions at the recommencement of cruising operations and in relation to the UK territorial jurisdiction of employment tribunals in collective redundancy cases.
  • Advising a company in relation to alleged discrimination and harassment proceedings against its UK managing director.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC311575 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 419867.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP