Louise Martin is a director in our Labour & Employment Practice based in our Leeds office.

Louise joined the firm from an international law firm in 2006 and was appointed director in 2018. She has a wide variety of experience in both contentious and non-contentious employment law. Her key strength is defending Employment Tribunal claims for corporate clients, with a focus on managing complex litigation and assisting clients with serial litigants and serial grievance raisers.

Louise has successfully defended multiple claims brought by serial litigants for several clients and has secured strike out of discrimination claims, which is notoriously difficult. In addition, she works with our litigation teams to consider broader strategy in relation to restraining action against such individuals.

Louise has successfully pursued a costs application for a client with an award of all of the client’s costs (£170,000 (subject to a detailed assessment Hearing)), which is very rare in Tribunal litigation with a finding that the pursuit of the claim was vexatious.

Louise has experience of defending claims in the appeal courts and recently had conduct of the defence of a claim pursued in the Court of Appeal (Owen v AMEC Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and another [2019] EWCA Civ 822) on the meaning of direct discrimination and the justification defence in relation to indirect discrimination claims (see Court of Appeal Judgment).

Louise is experienced in advising in relation to corporate transactions involving TUPE (including staged TUPE transfers) and reorganisations.

Louise regularly presents at seminars and training events organised by the firm. She is also a contributor to our Employment Law Worldview blog, which aims to interest and educate, stimulate discussion, provoke and sometimes just to amuse with global insight into practical and legal HR issues relevant to employers everywhere.