Mike is a highly experienced employment partner and litigator with over 16 years of practice in senior exits and complex claims arising from termination of employment and workplace discrimination.
Mike has developed a strong reputation for advising and representing senior executives, particularly those in FCA-regulated roles within the financial sector, as well as professionals in the tech, legal, academic, advertising, and media industries. He also has very extensive experience in advising and representing individual police officers, NHS staff, and those working in local and national government roles.
Beyond individual representation, Mike has had significant experience of collective employment disputes and matters involving the role of trade unions, having acted in key collective redundancy litigation in the Court of Appeal and CJEU. He has also acted in a respondent capacity defending claims in the Employment Tribunal for certain trade unions and other organisations.
He has latterly overseen complex group actions involving holiday pay enforcement and pension rights, securing substantial outcomes for thousands of affected employees.
Expertise
- Discrimination
- Whistleblowing
- Dismissal
- Senior Executives
Experience
Discrimination, Whistleblowing and Dismissal
- Secured rare findings of direct discrimination in the Employment Tribunal for a disabled trainee police officer resulting in career-changing consequences for the officer involved.
- Secured a finding of direct discrimination on the grounds of religious belief against a major metropolitan police force in the context of Islamophobic mistreatment at work.
- Represented a senior executive at board level in the travel and leisure industry facing homophobic abuse from other senior board members, resulting in a substantial settlement on exit.
Senior Executives
- Represented Foreign Office prosecutor and whistleblower Maria Bamieh in her highly publicised Tribunal claim against the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, securing a high-value financial settlement.
- Successfully represented barrister Robin Somerville in respect of his legal challenge clarifying the right to paid annual leave for regulatory panel chairs.
- Represented ex-analyst Kwasi Afrifa in his Tribunal claim against Goldman Sachs, widely reported in the national and financial press.
- Acted for a very senior pharma executive in the context of their contentious exit, securing that individual’s deferred remuneration outcome through negotiation.
- Negotiated the exit of a senior advertising industry executive, including the early removal of post-termination restrictions in the preceding contract.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Employment 2021–2026
Recognised by The Legal 500 for Employment: Senior Executives 2021–2026
Recognised by Chambers UK for Employment 2022–2026
“He was excellent. He has very high ability, and he offers good client service. Communication was first class. He was very supportive throughout. He was good at cutting to the crux of the case.” Chambers UK 2026
“Mike Cain is exceptional. He demonstrates a duty to clients which sets him apart. Mike is brilliant at showing actual care for people. You feel really supported by him.” Chambers UK 2026
“I would not want to be working with anyone else than Mike. The depth of his knowledge of employment law is unparalleled. He is very straight and direct with his advice.” Chambers UK 2026
“Mike Cain has a great reputation. He’s really good on acting for claimants and at class actions.” Chambers UK 2025
“He clearly has a genuine passion for employment law; he lives and breathes it. Mike has been thoughtful, caring and concise. He genuinely cares about me and the case, which really inspires confidence.” Chambers UK 2025
“Mike Cain is fanatic. His knowledge of the senior executive market is unbeaten. He sees any legal case as a team exercise and demands buy-in from counsel to that ethic to get results.” The Legal 500 2025
“Mike Cain has been exceptional from the moment we started working together. His pragmatic and direct approach to getting to the crux of complex legal issues coupled with his outstanding communications skills inspires confidence at every turn. He’s genuinely passionate about his area of expertise and cares about his clients as people first and foremost, which I think is essential in the field of employment law.” The Legal 500 2025
“Mike Cain is thorough, hands on and always drives matters forwards to reach the best conclusion for clients. He is able to pick out those cases where there is value for a clients.” The Legal 500 2025
“My experience of working with Mike Cain is one that I will always treasure. A masterful legal professional, he demonstrates such incredible client care that I would now feel proud and honoured to call him my friend. In challenging circumstances he is a rock of solid but honest advice, always open about the risks, and candid about the challenges whilst at the same time finding the opportunities and the way forward. You know that you are in the safest and most expert of hands.” The Legal 500 2025
“Even when things were not looking up, he did not throw in the towel, which would have been understandable. He always went an extra mile to explore ways round many hurdles that kept on popping up. Mike organised the best representation any one could ever wish for. Needless to say, the outcome of my case was favourable to me without having to go to the Employment Tribunal.” The Legal 500
“Mike was absolutely superb – responsive, measured, thoughtful, deeply knowledgeable and very insightful on both what to do and just as importantly what not to do – he continuously offered excellent counsel and practical advice that delivered a solution for me that provided an “out” from a very difficult employment environment. In the same way he was suggested to me as the “go to person” to deal with a toxic employer, I can’t recommend Mike highly enough for anyone facing these sorts of challenges.” The Legal 500
Member of the Employment Lawyers Association
Member of the Industrial Law Society
Member of the ILS Executive Committee 2013–2017
Career
Mike qualified as a solicitor in 2009. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2025, he worked at the following firms:
- Cole Khan
- Leigh Day
- Slater & Gordon (formerly Russell Jones & Walker)