Rob is an experienced employment lawyer and a former Global Head of HR at two FTSE 250 companies. He provides clients with advice on all aspects of employment law and HR, utilising his unique combination of legal knowledge and HR Director experience, resulting in highly practical, commercial and strategic solutions. He also frequently acts as an in-house HR Director or works alongside senior management teams on sensitive and complex people matters.
Rob has encountered almost all employment law and HR issues first-hand. These include hiring and managing staff, investigations and employee relations, discrimination allegations, high-profile/high-value exits, team moves, TUPE, post-termination restrictions, reward regulation, and all aspects of organisational change such as setting up new offices, redundancies, restructures of the people aspects of corporate transactions and in-sourcing/outsourcing. Rob has extensive international experience in Europe, the US, Asia and Africa and is a seasoned operator at Executive, Board and Remuneration Committee level.
Rob also provides training to a wide range of businesses on HR, leadership and employment law issues.
Expertise
- Employment law
- Employment contracts and recruitment of staff
- Day-to-day HR advice
- Settlement agreements
- Termination of employment
- Performance management
- Team moves
- Post-termination restrictions
- People aspects of corporate transactions
- Reward regulation
- TUPE
- Investigations
- Discrimination issues
- Redundancies and restructures
- HR team employment law training
- People-related regulatory matters (e.g. SMCR, CRD IV, AIFMD, UCITS V, MiFiD II, Gender Pay Gap Reporting, BB-EEE Reporting)
Experience
- Advised on and implemented substantial redundancy exercises in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US for a number of financial institution.
- Advised and managed the employment law and broader human capital issues related to a number of high-profile team moves for a number of asset managers.
- Successfully managed a number of sensitive investigations in the US, Africa, UK and Europe, many involving regulatory issues.
- Drafted and implemented new equity and fee share arrangements for portfolio managers and other key staff.
- Handled numerous high-profile/high-value exits around the world sensitively and successfully.
- Rolled out global diversity training and implemented a set of diversity principles with the aim of improving “diversity of perspective”.
- Managed all HR, employment law, share scheme and compensation issues in connection with Gartmore’s IPO (including setting up of new share schemes and winding up of existing offshore partnership equity structure).
- Managed all people, employment law and equity-related aspects of the sale of Gartmore to Henderson.
- Successfully implemented the people and employment law aspects of the buyout by management of 15% of Investec Asset Management from Investec Group.
- Advised a leading asset manager on all people and remuneration-related regulatory matters including in relation to SMCR, CRD IV, AIFMD, UCITS V, MiFiD II, Gender Pay Gap Reporting, BB-EEE Reporting (South Africa).
- Advised and represented a business with regard to an investigation by the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission) in New York and an FSA investigation into the conduct of senior members of staff.
- Following a successful acquisition of a new investment mandate, advised on a contentious TUPE transfer of staff.
- Advised multiple schools on a wide range of COVID-19 matters including significant trade union relationship management.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Career
Rob qualified as a solicitor in 2001. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2021, he worked at the following firms:
- Investec Asset Management
- Gartmore
- Bear Stearns & Co
- Macfarlanes
- Ark Schools