Chris Quinn

Chris is a well- established leading Employment and Commercial practitioner and is recognised as such by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. He appears regularly and successfully in very high-value High Court and Employment Tribunal trials.

In the latest directories (published November 2011) the observations made about Chris include: "Also known as a "bit of a street fighter in court" is Chris Quinn who is "tenacious, bold and assertive in his opinions." He is "incredibly persuasive" and able to handle any tricky litigation."

Previous observations are that are that he "is a great advocate, has commercial acumen and tells it how it is" (International Arbitration) and is "extremely robust and offers thorough preparation" (Employment).

Chris’ practice is predominantly either High Court work arising out of the breakdown of an employment or similar contractual relationship or non-statutory capped Employment Tribunal work. He has been instructed in some of the highest profile City discrimination and whistle-blowing cases. In 2011 at least five of his cases each involved claims worth multi-million pound amounts.

One central expertise is in complex business disputes where either the employment relationship is complicated by fiduciary or other directors’ duties, shareholder rights and post-termination obligations or where the issue is not one solely of employment law but involves some other area such as a derivative claim or a section 994 petition.

However his expertise in all aspects of urgent relief work sees him instructed across a broad spectrum of work and he is able to draw upon experience gained in many different areas of practice. Chris is presently engaged in a multi-million pound alleged commercial fraud dispute in respect of film rights.

Chris has a very loyal client base and has been described in the directories as being “often the first port of call in high-value City disputes” and as being “particularly recommended for injunctive relief cases”. He has appeared in a large number of reported cases and appears regularly at appellate level.

Chris' trial skills are frequently commented upon and have led to him being in very high demand in cases which are anticipated to be likely to 'go the distance'.

In November 2010 Chris acted for the successful First Defendant in the three week High Court claim of Lonmar Global Risks Limited v West and Others [2011] IRLR 138. Another of his reported cases in 2010 was his successful appeal to the EAT in Nationwide Building Society v Benn and Others [2010] IRLR 922. In March 2011 he won a solicitor's negligence claim following a 4 day High Court trial trial in Yousefi v SJ Solicitors. Other cases in 2011 include a six week trial in Towry EJ v Bennett and Others in respect of which judgment is presently awaited.

Along with Clive Freedman QC, Chris now edits Littleton's Practice Notes on Commercial Fraud soon to be available on PLC's website.

injunctions

According to Chambers and Partners, Chris “is often the first port of call in high-value City disputes and is particularly recommended for injunctive relief cases”.

His reputation has been gained over many years and sees him instructed in a large number of such applications.

Chris has extensive experience of both applying for and opposing applications for freezing relief, search orders and enforcement of restrictive covenants and fiduciary duties. His work regularly involves intellectual property and other tangential areas.

Many but by no means all of these cases will result in speedy trials. In respect of these, Chambers and Partners describes him as being “A tremendous cross-examiner and effective fighter” who “produces clear, crisp and persuasive arguments”.

As is illustrated by cases such as Lonmar, Chris has particular expertise in the trials that sometimes do follow from such applications from interim relief and a record of succeeding in the same.

high court

Chris’ recent High Court trials include Towry EJ Ltd v Bennett and others, Yousefi v SJ Solicitors, Lonmar Global Risks Ltd v West and Others, Utopia v Wright and others and G Attwood Holdings v Woodward.

He has a track record of success whether acting at trial on behalf of both claims and defendants.

His successful defence of the First Defendant in the three week £2.5 million High Court Lonmar trial came despite not calling his client to give evidence. The judgment of Mr Justice Hickinbottom is the latest word on the duty of fidelity and the required elements of the torts relevant to these cases.

Such trials often, but not always, result from an initial application for injunctive relief: as to which please see “Injunctions”. The exceptions to this are illustrated by cases such as El-Hajjali which involved consideration of penalty clauses in contracts of employment.

Many of Chris’ cases arise from a commercial relationship other then one of employment. He recently acted for a management company against a celebrity chef and was also instructed in the first case to consider the status of monies paid under a telephone direct debit scheme.

His expertise in High Court trials generally is reflected by his success in a solicitor's negligence claim in Yousefi v SJ Solicitors (Macrh 2011).

Chris also has extensive experience before the Court of Appeal. In 2009 he succeeded in the land-mark case of Booth v Oldham MBC which is now the leading authority on the inter-relationship between the Disability Discrimination Act and the Local Government Pension Regulations

Discrimination

Chris has been instructed in many of the most noteworthy City discrimination claims on behalf of both Claimants and Respondents and he continues to be.

Historically, the most well-known of these is probably the “Gay Banker” case (Lewis v HSBC) in which Chris was instructed alone against both Andrew Hochhauser QC and Thomas Linden QC. This may be followed closely by his successful appeal in Serco v Redfearn which established that members of the British National Party could not rely upon the Race Relations Act.

He is frequently instructed in such high-value claims and has acted both for and against many of the leading City institutions.

Chris’ credentials in discrimination cases are reflected by his instruction in Booth v Oldham MBC (inter-relationship between DDA and Local Government Pension Regulations) and in GMB v Allen where he succeeded in establishing that a trade union had discriminated against its female members on the ground of their sex.

In 2010 Chris acted successfully for a major law firm resisting two high-value discrimination claims. In 2011 he was instructed in four similar cases, twice on behalf of the Claimant and twice on behalf of the Respondents

Other Employment Tribunal claims

Chris has extensive experience in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He acts for both Claimants and Respondents in all areas of statutory employment claims. His most recent appellate cases reflect the breadth of his expertise ranging as they do from a successful TUPE appeal in Nationwide Building Society v Benn [2010] IRLR 922 to a successful appeal against a finding of unfair dismissal in Celebi v Compass.

Chris is instructed in a large number of whistle-blowing claims- an area which often calls for extensive cross-examination skills. He is presently awaiting judgment in Atkins v GEMS in which he is instructed by the world's largest supplier of private education defending a claim brought by the former Chairwoman of Ofsted.

other areas

Chris is regularly instructed in civil fraud cases and is presently acting in such a claim involving film rights.

Chris is also regularly instructed in sports, media and entertainment cases and his experience extends to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Geneva. He has appeared in many of the domestic sporting tribunals.

Chris’ commercial experience includes a large number of successful High Court trials. Recent cases have involved diverse topics including solicitor's negligence such as Yousefi v SJ Solicitors, the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997, the enforceability of direct debit schemes, moral rights and quantum meruit.

Chris' expertise also leads to him being instructed on behalf of solicitors, law firms and even barristers on their own behalf.

Call: 1992
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