Douglas Leach

Practice Areas

Douglas is an experienced employment and discrimination specialist, dealing predominantly with substantial and higher value matters in both the Employment Tribunal and the High Court/County Court across the full range of employment, discrimination and commercial employment issues, including collective labour law.

Highly regarded for his technical expertise, attention to detail and measured advocacy, Douglas is particularly sought after in complex TUPE, whistleblowing and discrimination matters, as well as employee competition cases involving breach of confidence, restrictive covenants and injunctive relief. He regularly conducts long-running trials and appeals to the EAT and has appeared in several significant cases in the Court of Appeal in recent years, usually unled (including against silks).

Douglas acts for both claimants and respondents/defendants, and firmly believes in maintaining this balance. He is regularly instructed on behalf of individuals and/or unions, as well as NHS Trusts and Welsh Local Health Boards, schools and universities, Local Authorities, PLCs and a range of SMEs. He enjoys working as part of a wider legal team and finding creative and pragmatic solutions to problems.

Prior to qualifying at the Bar, Douglas was Editor of Industrial Relations Law Bulletin (LexisNexis Butterworths IRS), going on to combine practice for a year with a role as Senior Employment Law Writer/Editor for IDS Brief (IDS Thomson Sweet & Maxwell) and its related Handbooks and Supplements. He remains a regular contributor to various publications, including Tolley's Employment Law Service and ELA Briefing. He sits on ELA Briefing’s Editorial Committee.