Employment

Represented the Company and its Chief Executive Officer, who are co-defendants in an ongoing litigation commenced by an ex-employee of the Company.

Represented the client in conducting an independent investigation into complaints of sexual harassment raised by two employees against a manager. This involved reviewing all circumstantial evidence and conducting extensive interviews with both the individual complainants and the accused, as well as with more than 5 other employees who worked closely with the individuals in question.

Advised Travelodge Hotels (Asia) Pte Ltd on appropriate terms in the Sale & Purchase Agreement to regulate the takeover of the seller's employees, and reviewed and updated the full suite of employment documents.

Advised the innovative e-payment platform on implementing an appropriate social media policy.  

Representing an Australian-based software development company, with their various corporate matters, including (i) an employee share option scheme; (ii) general corporate advice and (iii) employment law issues with its employees.

Representing a global marketing and advertising agency in coming to a mutual termination agreement with its CEO who has been in service for more than 20 years and assisting the company in compiling a master employment contract template for its APAC region. 

Representing a global sports marketing agency in compiling a master employment contract template for its Hong Kong office. 

Representing a senior executive / co-founder in negotiating a service agreement involving share option plans of the US holding entity. The group hiring the individual is a start-up company designing and manufacturing electric vehicles, which is listed on NASDAQ. 

Represented luxury brand as outside general counsel in all areas of employment including counseling, compliance with employment laws, leave-related issues, terminations, and defending discrimination actions.

We routinely represent individuals of extraordinary ability in business, sciences and art in obtaining employment visas and green cards.

Assisted in the transfer of US employees to China for a global entertainment conglomerate.

Formation and private offering of a US micro-venture capital fund focusing on the business-to-business digital marketplace and advice on its investments in three portfolio companies: a platform providing athletes and parents with a suite of online tools to streamline the recruiting process; a platform providing restaurants with a trained food delivery staff and system as well as an app which communicates orders received by restaurants; and a platform that allows manufacturers and distributors in the IT sector to communicate with resellers of their products.

Our US corporate, corporate tax and wealth planning groups worked to close this deal, which included a purchase price allocation for personal goodwill and post-closing installment payments under promissory notes, secured by underlying shares subject to a voting agreement. The deal pay-out also included employment arrangements, insurance-related payments and a potential dividend payment.

Advising a senior executive on the termination of his employment in Hong Kong and his simultaneous removal as a partner from a UK LLP, including negotiating his severance arrangements and advising on potential claims in both jurisdictions.

Advising a senior banker in New York on his departure from his US employer and his relocation to work for a competitor in Hong Kong, including advising on the buyout of complex deferred compensation arrangements and extricating him from onerous restrictive covenants.

When director and CEO of the Co-op Bank Plc Barry Tootell stepped down in difficult and controversial circumstances, we demonstrated our in-depth knowledge of difficult situations to advise and negotiate his exit. Futhermore, our team continued to support him on arising issues and enquiries related to his time at the Co-op, after his exit.

When Harriet Green stood down as CEO of Thomas Cook, she turned to Withers' experienced team to help her develop and implement an exit strategy. The situation became more complicated while she was on garden leave, and had to deal with an onslaught of negative press coverage around her alleged handling of the death of two children in Corfu (six years before she joined Thomas Cook). We developed a clear strategy and we closed the matter down to our client's satisfaction.

Candy Crush Saga was one of the major global success stories of the free-to-play mobile device games, with more than 93 million players worldwide. We are proud to have acted for the founders of the company that owned it, King.com, in the high-profile sale of their business to Activision Blizzard for US$5.9 billion, achieving a very satisfactory outcome for our clients.

Acting for SSAFA over several decades. We were on hand to advise when the charity went through a redundancy exercise and TUPE transfer in Germany. We successfully negotiated when two senior executive roles were terminated, alongside more junior members of staff, one of whom brought a disability discrimination claim. We also advised an Employment Tribunal in the UK over whether the charity could be held liable for an allegedly discriminatory decision taken by the MOD, securing a ruling in our client's favour.

Winton is a global investment management and data technology company that uses scientific methods to develop intelligent investment systems. The company contacted Withers for advice on internal restructures and mobility issues between its various locations. Our global reach and knowledge of multiple markets meant we were ideally placed to advise on issues in London and Oxford in the UK, and also in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Withers represents many successful families who live and work in countries around the world. We are sometimes asked to advise on contracts for personal staff who travel with the family, in this particular case when there were immigration issues to address.

Max Mara is a renowned luxury Italian fashion house with stores around the globe, including across the United States. The group approached Withers for help with its employment needs, advising on the implementation of employee policies and risk management strategies. We were also pleased to suggest and develop store manager training sessions, and we successfully assisted in defending the company against wrongful termination claims.

Withers was called on to act for a well-known managing partner of an international investment firm when his reputation was under threat. Our robust approach to reputation management prevented the filing of false statements in a form U-5 (Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration) that would have had a detrimental effect on his future career and earnings.

This well-known speciality brand has annual revenues in excess of $400 million. We advised its chief executive and chief operating officer in a complex transaction to structure the buy-out of their equity interests by a private equity firm and allowing them to rollover their remaining interests into a newly formed holding company. We have developed a particular reputation for our ability to protect successful individuals in negotiations with private equity houses.

This well-known, publicly held brand has more than 1,200 retail outlets throughout the US. We negotiated a new package (valued in excess of $2 million annually) on behalf of the incoming chief executive.

As a firm, we are best known for helping globally successful individuals to protect their interests internationally - in this recent matter we helped secure water-tight contracts for two C-suite directors as they relocated from the United States to the United Kingdom, while our transatlantic team reviewed their changed tax circumstances.

Withers has a strong track record in representing high-profile and high-net-worth figures in the world of sport. When leading football manager Jürgen Klopp was approached by Liverpool Football Club to become its manager, we represented him in the negotiations for his move and the extension to his contract.

Jigsaw is a leading name in the UK's retail market, offering high-quality, elegant clothing. John Robinson, the founder, and Robinson Webster (Holdings) Ltd, contacted Withers when a former finance director claimed sexual discrimination, unfair constructive dismissal, pregnancy and maternity discrimination as well as less favorable treatment as a part-time worker. We successfully argued at an employment tribunal that she had been treated fairly and the claims were dismissed.