Paul Fontes

Practice Areas

Paul Fontes advises employers on all aspects of employment law and has been recognized as a leading employment lawyer for many years.

He has particular experience in advising clients on complex projects and high-value litigation in the financial institutions, professional services, TMT, and real estate sectors. Paul is a Partner in our Employment, Labor and Pensions practice and Head of the Employment team in London.

Paul has considerable experience in conducting proceedings in the Employment Tribunals and the High Court, and regularly defends high-value and commercially sensitive claims on behalf of employers. He also advises on and conducts investigations into allegations of misconduct, discrimination, bullying and harassment often with regulatory implications.

In addition to his contentious work, Paul advises on non-contentious issues such as incentive plans and remuneration structures, business reorganizations and redundancies, executive appointments and terminations, and the employment law aspects of corporate transactions. He regularly advises on and coordinates multijurisdictional projects.

He advises a number of FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, major professional services firms, regulatory bodies, investment banks, asset managers, hedge funds, brokers, and other city institutions.

In addition to advising on employment matters, Paul advises partnerships and LLPs on issues such as partner appointments and exits, restrictive covenants and team moves, discrimination, and other partnership disputes.

Paul is recognized as a leading employment lawyer by the independent guides to the legal profession. Legal 500 quotes a source as saying: "Paul Fontes is superb. Not showy or bombastic – just quietly gets on with beating the other side. On top of the detail, great with clients, great with counsel and really smart – also a great drafter of documents." Chambers quotes sources as saying that "he brings a very personal touch to his work ... I know everything is in good hands with him" and that "he is able to set out what the law requires but he helps you work within the commercial realities, ensuring you meet your business needs and mitigate risks."

Education