With over 30 years’ experience as an employment lawyer, Chris acts for multinational corporations, international financial institutions, UK public and private companies, professional partnerships and senior individuals.
Chris specialises in a wide range of employment matters including whistleblowing, dismissal and discrimination claims, restrictive covenants and the protection of confidential information.
He also regularly advises on corporate governance and boardroom matters, the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and collective consultation issues. Chris has extensive experience in the financial services sector.
Expertise
- Boardroom and PLC corporate governance issues
- Whistleblowing, discrimination and dismissal claims
- Protection of confidential information and covenants
- Professional partnership appointments and exits
- Employment documentation of all types
- Disciplinary, grievance and dismissal procedures
- The Senior Manager and Certification Regimes in financial services
- Employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions
- Union agreements and collective employee consultation
Experience
- Employment litigation in the Employment Tribunal and High Court, including advising a major UK bank on the successful defence of several whistleblowing and dismissal claims in the wake of the industry-wide investigation into the alleged manipulation of foreign exchange markets, and the successful defence of a high-profile dismissal case for a financial services company.
- Advised several banks, financial services and corporate clients, and an international charity on #MeToo investigations, related disciplinary matters and the development of policies and processes to handle such issues.
- Regular advice on redundancy procedures including union and employee consultation and negotiating exit packages, including recently for a major Asian IT services company, an Italian bank, a global France-headquartered power company, and a US-headquartered technology infrastructure provider.
- Advice to two major UK banks on the implementation of the FCA Senior Manager and Certification Regime and the consequential impact on employment documentation. Related advice to senior managers on their duties under SMCR and to various financial services companies on the extended SMCR regime due to be implemented at the end of 2019.
- Advice on the legal and corporate governance issues relating to the departure of senior executives of UK public companies including, recently, the CEO of a well-known construction company, the CEO of an oil company, the CEO of a UK bank, the COO of another UK bank, the US CEO of a major insurer and the CFO of a listed financial services company.
- Advice to numerous senior executives and high-profile individuals, including the head of a financial regulator on their departure, the incoming CEO of a listed mining and natural resources company, supporting the head of a major UK charity in relation to a major investigation, contractual advice to a high-profile journalist moving between TV companies and to a well-known sports coach on their departure.
- Various cross-border advisory projects in relation to contractual harmonisation, GDPR and whistleblowing #MeToo policies covering up to 80 countries for major corporates including, recently, a US-headquartered beverages company, an England–Holland-headquartered consumer goods company, a Japan-headquartered IT services and technology company, and a Singapore-headquartered sovereign wealth fund.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 2021 for Employment: Senior Executives
Recognised by The Legal 500 2021 for Employment: Employers
Recognised in Who’s Who Legal 2021 for Labour & Employment
Ranked in Band 1, Chambers 2019
“An outstanding professional, who is credible and always available at short notice.” Chambers UK 2019
Christopher Goodwill is “very calm and effective,” while also being “knowledgeable, commercial and advanced in his strategy.” Chambers UK 2019
Author of ‘Restrictive Covenants under Common and Competition Law (6th edition) which can be found here.
Career
Chris qualified as a solicitor in 1988. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2019, he worked at Clifford Chance.