Eleena Misra
Call: 2001
Eleena also has a particular expertise and experience in cases with a medical dimension, having acted for numerous NHS Trusts, doctors, midwives and other health practitioners. These cases have ranged from specialist tribunals (such as the Postgraduate Medical and Postgraduate Training Board) to High Court actions, restraining the dismissal or suspension of consultants, and internal disciplinary and grievance hearings.
Equally at home with private sector and public sector clients, Eleena is known for her ability to assimilate complex material swiftly and provide strategic and business savvy advice at an early stage.
In the private sector, Eleena has provided advice to professionals, companies and firms negotiating difficult staff and business transitions in the current economic climate. Clients have ranged from well known sports and media personalities to multinational corporations and banking institutions. Public sector clients include the police, local authorities and Primary Care Trusts.
COMMERCIAL/INJUNCTIONS
Whether in respect of an urgent application for interim relief concerning a team move or an application for delivery up of misappropriated confidential information, Eleena is experienced in and enjoys the pace of injunctions. Led by several silks in
Eleena has represented clients at trial in the County Court, Queen’s Bench and Chancery Divisions in a number of cases concerning high value disputes in the banking and finance sector, economic tort disputes and large scale actions for breach of contract. In respect of professional negligence, as well as representing clients in mediations, Eleena has appeared in the High Court for unions and individuals.
Author of (most recently) Procedure in Civil Courts & Tribunals (due to be published in early 2010 by Wildys) and contributed to Employment Covenants and Confidential Information 3rd Edition by Kate Brearley &
Eleena is the co-author of Atkins on Employment and Atkins on Equal Opportunities as well as having collaborated with fellow members of chambers and contributed to Blackstone’s’ Employment Law Practice, Tucker & George on Discrimination, Transfer of Undertakings (Sweet & Maxwell) and the new edition of Employment Covenants & Confidential Information (
The areas of Eleena’s practice highlighted below are illustrative and not comprehensive.
Dismissals & Redundancies
Eleena has been representing Claimants and Respondents in unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal cases for eight years and has in depth knowledge of the more complex aspect of dismissals involving TUPE transfers, discrimination, protected disclosures, trade unions and multiple litigants. Eleena represented the Respondent in Hardy v Polk (Leeds) Limited [2004] IRLR 420 in respect of correct method of computing damages in a wrongful dismissal and in Ganatra v. LNBIE Limited [2004] All ER (D) 63 on the extent of disclosure obligations in a long running whistle blowing claim. Recently, she has been advising a variety of large law firms on collective and individual redundancy cases.
Sex & Sexual Orientation Discrimination
From restaurant owners accused of chasing after waitresses, and hounded by The Sun outside the Tribunal, to cases involving allegations of serious and prolonged discrimination, often said to be on an institutional level, Eleena has advised and steered clients through hard fought and emotional litigation. Eleena is known for being tough and calm; able to advocate for her clients robustly, but also handle witnesses with the sensitivity and intuition which can turn the tide in sex discrimination cases. Recently Eleena has advised a number of employers on their obligations towards pregnant workers, those on maternity leave and those seeking to work flexibly and a number of high profile law firms.
Recent example cases:
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Representing a well known hotel group in claims brought by a new mother made redundant;
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Representing a banker subjected to prolonged physical and mental harassment (in connection with Protection from Harassment Act proceedings);
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Representing media clients accused of sex discrimination on a production shoot.
Race, Religion & Associated Discrimination
Eleena has represented several clients in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in connection with complex race proceedings and is currently engaged on a variety of lengthy race disputes in the Tribunal. She also has experience of race discrimination litigation in the County Court having acted for trade unions, retail clients and charities. Eleena spent her early years of practice undertaking pro bono work for FRU and providing evening employment sessions at a local CAB. Since then, Eleena has represented both Claimants and Respondents in numerous race discrimination claims. Eleena is well versed in managing cases involving complex factual allegations, unrepresented clients and witnesses with language barriers or the requirement for a translator efficiently and cost effectively (e.g. Jervis v UNISON [2006] All ER (D) 141) .
Disability Discrimination
Supporting clients through several major changes in the law, from the revisions to the DDA to the recent case law concerning disability related discrimination (Malcolm), Eleena has conducted long and complex proceedings for Claimants and Respondents. See, for example, Hamill v
Other
Eleena is currently acting on a local authority equal pay matter with wide ramifications for the client and has advised a number of clients in recent years on age discrimination, for example, a professor claiming against a well known educational establishment. Eleena has also acted for companies and individuals in bonus and share disputes in connection with minority shareholder petitions.
Eleena undertakes advisory and representation work in the field of judicial review.
From sitting on internal disciplinary and grievance panels for public authorities and the fire brigade, to representing Specialist Registrars at PMETB (now GMC), Eleena has a wealth of knowledge, experience and pragmatism when it comes to disciplinary and regulatory work.
Examples:
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Acting as management case ‘prosecutor’ in internal disciplinary proceedings against a firefighter;
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Acting for a doctor in an Interim Orders Panel hearing in GMC proceedings;
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Acting for a local authority in proceedings associated with the removal of a Chief Executive and Senior HR Director.
Many of Eleena’s cases have been for NHS Trusts and healthcare professionals, which has given her a depth of understanding in respect of internal disciplinary procedures (personal and professional conduct cases, for example) and the developing jurisprudence concerning the court’s jurisdiction to grant injunctions to restrain either the dismissal or suspension of medical or allied professionals.
Eleena spent time on secondment with the Healthcare Department of Mills & Reeve and has advised Trusts directly, not only on employment issues and injunctions, but on human rights issues, including on judicial review. Eleena has also acted for doctors, nurses and midwives accused of misconduct or under capability proceedings. She keeps abreast of developments in the medical world on a regular basis and has a sound basic understanding of medical and surgery concepts and terminology gleaned from her exposure to these cases and a medical family background.
Examples:
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Acting for an NHS Trust in an application for an injunction brought by a surgeon accused of serious clinical negligence and causing or contributing to patient deaths;
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Advising a Trust on the human rights issues involved in applying policies concerning the funding of surgery for certain sectors of society;
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Acting for The British Red Cross and Ambulance Service in various claims;
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Acting for a Consultant seeking specific performance of his contract of employment against a Trust.
OTHER
Eleena regularly delivers lectures and seminars on a wide variety of subjects. Please enquire within the clerks’ room for further details.
Eleena is married and lives in