Julie is an experienced employment solicitor recognised in particular for her work advising clients with whistleblowing and discrimination complaints (most notably sex, maternity and equal pay). She is also very well regarded for advising senior executives on all types of employment-related issues, including contractual issues on joining and leaving organisations, particularly those in the financial services and professional services sectors.
Julie is a trusted adviser to many charities and not-for-profit employers, and has a special interest in advising those in the social enterprise space on what best employment practice looks like.
Julie is also an experienced investigator, commissioned by employers to hear and determine grievances and disciplinary issues.
As a result of Julie’s help and advice I was able to resolve a very complicated and long-running situation with my employer and achieved an outcome that was far better than I could have hoped for. I had approached other lawyers who had also been recommended to me at the time but they hadn’t been able to see the sensitivities in the case as well as Julie had, which was essential in resolving the situation.
Managing Director, Investment Bank
Any employee facing difficulties at work and considering raising a discrimination or whistleblowing complaint will face legal, organisational, financial and emotional hurdles. It is not an easy journey, but having Julie as my counsel and companion on the road really made the difference. Julie understood my objectives, which were ethical and personal, and helped me to best use the levers in my organisation’s procedures and employment laws to achieve an outcome I was happy with. I would encourage anyone considering going down the road of challenging an unsatisfactory status quo in their organisation to get in touch with Julie to understand their employment rights and options on strategy. Julie’s skills and experience will help you make the right choices for you.
Solicitor, Financial Services
During what have been some of the most stressful and difficult few months of my life, you have made a horrible situation so much more bearable. Knowing I had you in my corner, to explain, hand hold and fight where necessary, took such a weight off. I also greatly appreciate how honest you always were with me, I absolutely trusted you to tell me when it was time to walk away, and now I can move forward with no regrets, knowing I pushed to exactly the right level for me both personally and professionally. Thank you for all of your help and support, and for putting up with my usually rather frantic emails.
Journalist
Expertise
- Discrimination and victimisation
- Whistleblowing
- Maternity discrimination
- Contractual issues
- Partnership
- Employment advisory
- Independent investigator
Experience
Reported cases include
- Acted for Hanan and Samira Fariad in their extensively reported claims for sex, race and religious discrimination against inter dealer broker Tradition Securities and Futures SA.
- Successfully acted for one of the four defendants in Lonmar Global Risks Limited v West and Others, a major insurance industry team move case.
- Acted for the claimant in a high-profile whistleblowing claim against the NHS (Chowdhury vs Ealing Hospital NHS Trust) where the claimant was awarded a rare interim relief order securing her full pay, despite her dismissal, until trial.
- Successfully advised Tilern de Bique, a single parent from St Vincent serving in the British Army, in a ground-breaking sex and race discrimination appeal against the Ministry of Defence.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised in Best Lawyers UK from 2009 – 2021 for Employment Law
Ranked in Chambers UK 2020 for Employment: Senior Executive
Julie Morris “is an impressive operator and has a huge amount of knowledge and experience.” Chambers UK 2020
Julie is “brilliant” and her “charm conceals great intellect and a stubborn insistence on standing up for her clients’ rights”. Legal 500 2018
Ranked in Tier 1 of Chambers and the Legal 500 for Senior Executive work for a number of years, quotes include:
Julie has “a great nose for where litigation is going, and a great skill for understanding what a client wants and needs”, “impressive and insightful and extremely dedicated and supportive” according to respondents.
One source describes her as “one of the absolute best solicitors working in employment. She is noted for her work on high-profile discrimination cases and also handling maternity and equal pay claims”.
Julie is a “fantastic claimant-focused solicitor who is tactical and sensitive, and able to get good results”. She “retains a laudable degree of common sense when conducting negotiations” and “knows which buttons to press”, is “supportive, reliable and seeks to understand her clients’ concerns”. Sources identify her “instinctive grasp of complex issues as one of her most perceptible strengths”.
She is also recommended in Who’s Who Legal 2019 as a Global Leader in Employment Law
Career
Julie qualified as a solicitor in 1999. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2020, she worked at the following firms:
- Slater and Gordon
- Ashurst