David Palmer

David has a decade of experience of supporting clients with their strategic and sensitive people issues.   David’s reputation is for providing commercial no-nonsense advice.

David was named as a Rising Star in the IFLR's EMEA Expert Guide 2022. 

David has advised on various complex cross-border transactions, restructurings and outsourcings.  He has extensive experience defending a large number of employment tribunal claims, and has succeeded in appeal hearings in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the appellate courts.

David regularly delivers training to clients on various aspects of employment law. 

David is a regular commentator on employment law matters.  He has contributed to chapters in Xpert HR's 'Employment Law Manual' (including key chapters on financial services), 'Termination of Employment' (Bloomsbury) and 'Class Actions in England & Wales' (Sweet & Maxwell).

David is an active member of the Employment Lawyers Association.  He has contributed regularly to its work.  He was a working party member relating to ELA’s input towards the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.

Examples of David’s experience include advising:

• Post Office Limited on its successful defence of worker status claims presented by a group of test-claimant postmasters - one of the Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2021
• Stagecoach Group Plc, Tullow Oil Plc and Capital & Counties Properties on their respective public mergers
• Westinghouse Electric Company in its chapter 11 restructuring and sale to Brookfield Business Partners L.P.*
• a regulated financial services organisation on the exit of its senior officers, and the recruitment of their successors*
• a bank in its defence of breach of contract claims and claims that it had failed to comply with the collective redundancy legislation*
• a private equity firm on the exit of an underperforming CEO of one of its key portfolio companies*
• a listed investment manager on replacing the provider of its online platform mid-contract, including providing pre-emptive solutions to manage the people issues that would arise*

* prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills

Background

David qualified as a lawyer in Scotland, where he spent time working in-house at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. He is qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales.