DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Fox & Partners

Partnership

6 ranked lawyers

Band 2

UK-wide

UK 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

department information

Ranked Lawyers

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What the team is known for

Respected employment and partnership law boutique well known for its focus on contentious partnership matters. Advises partnerships and individual partners, often on complex and highly sensitive issues such as allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination claims and expulsions. Regularly acts for traditional professional services partnerships as well as those in the financial services sector, including private equity firms.

Strengths

A client says: "The team met my expectations every time, so I knew where I was and what was next - it felt like my case was in good hands."

One client reports: "Their advice was invaluable and we would definitely go to them again for complex matters."

One source says: "The team at Fox & Partners demonstrates strategic understanding and dedication to the wider relationship-based and professional-based concerns parties may have."

Notable practitioners

Caroline Field is well known for her contentious partnership expertise, particularly in cases where there is crossover with employment law and issues of professional negligence.
"I have the greatest respect for Caroline - she is a partnership expert." "She is a top operator." "She's really talented and a driving force at the firm."

Catriona Watt handles a broad range of highly sensitive and contentious partnership matters, including compulsory retirements, partner exits and sexual harassment allegations.
"She's good at developing strategy for litigation and is creative about identifying legal avenues we can use in addition to being very thorough with her preparation." "Catriona is endlessly patient with clients and really takes her time to find out what they need or want to achieve in litigation, as well as being intelligent and creative in getting them to the position they need to be in."

Dean Fuller primarily provides non-contentious partnership advice to clients including traditional partnerships and LLPs. He is noted for his work for firms in the financial services sector.
"He is great and really knowledgeable." "Dean is an excellent technical lawyer who is very hands-on and client-friendly." "He has a very pragmatic approach."

Eleanor Diamond is an associate who regularly assists on partnership disputes concerning partner expulsions, discrimination claims and compulsory retirement, among other issues.
"Eleanor is very legally astute, extremely savvy and very quickly understood our case." "She is always thorough and diligent."

Ronnie Fox provides clients with the benefit of his extensive experience and deep knowledge of a wide range of contentious partnership matters.
"Ronnie Fox is a legend in this area."

Department Information

This content is provided by Fox & Partners.

Overview

Fox & Partners is engaged by partners/members and partnerships and LLPs where there are high-value financial issues at stake, and also regulatory and reputational issues.

Assisting partners retiring/exiting a firm, or firms looking to achieve outcomes with minimal disruption and risk, is the cornerstone of our practice. Our experience includes compulsory and voluntary retirements, negotiating strategy behind the scenes or in a more public forum. We deal with issues at the cutting edge of partnership law, including those relating to discretionary decision making to expel or retire partners often with the consequent loss of multi-million pounds of carried interest.

We are instructed by high profile members facing disciplinary or performance concerns and investigations, or firms conducting such processes. We are known as true experts with unique experience and understanding of the application of often untested law, culture and regulatory environments. Acting for all parties means we are uniquely placed to assist in these matters. Post-termination covenants and the implications of partner moves forms a major part of our practice; we advise on business protection matters, including litigious team moves, with issues such as breaches of contractual and fiduciary duties, restrictive covenants and conspiracy allegations.

We also support firms to review whether their constitutional documents, and indeed business models, are fit for purpose and facilitate the objectives of their business.