Sophie Cashell

Sophie has a very busy employment practice which involves acting for claimants or respondents (both individual or corporate) in claims involving whistleblowing, discrimination, TUPE, unfair or wrongful dismissal and unlawful deductions etc.

Prior to joining Littleton, Sophie acquired a broad range of employment experience as a paralegal in the employment team at Withers LLP

Sophie’s experience extends to all stages of litigation including advising on complex employment matters and drafting pleadings or appellate documents. For example:

• Sophie has drafted pleadings involving claims under the TUPE 2006 regulations; failure to collectively consult under TULR(C)A 1992; constructive, wrongful or ordinary unfair dismissal; discrimination (pertaining to most protected characteristics and involving claims pursuant to13, 15, 18, 19, 20, and 26 EqA 2010); whistleblowing detriment and automatic unfair dismissal (involving claims either under ERA 1996 and/or MAPLR 1999).
• Sophie has also drafted documents for the Employment Appeal Tribunal, including a notice and grounds of appeal and writing submissions on behalf of a respondent in advance of a preliminary hearing.

Sophie regularly appears in the Employment Tribunal for preliminary hearings, judicial mediations or final hearings. Her extensive advocacy experience includes:

• Making and resisting applications for anonymity orders.
• Making applications for strike out or deposit orders. Including in relation to non-compliance with tribunal orders, time limits or employment status.
• Drafting a skeleton argument in respect of a wasted costs.
• Successfully arguing there had been a TUPE transfer in respect of an employee who had been employed at a fitness centre.
• Acting as junior counsel representing multiple respondents in a two-week whistleblowing, unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
• Acting as sole counsel in a variety of multi-day claims involving a range of complaints. This includes successfully representing a respondent in a four-day claim for race, sex or age discrimination, and successfully representing another respondent in a four-day claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
• Successfully representing three respondents (one corporate, and two individual) at a seven-day hearing to determine complaints of race discrimination, victimisation, unlawful deduction of wages and unfair dismissal.

Further, Sophie has a particular interest in cases that involve international elements, for instance she has:

• Acted as a junior in an age discrimination and whistleblowing claim which was resisted on the grounds of diplomatic immunity.
• Drafted grounds of resistance and advised in a matter which involved consideration of the State Immunity Act 1978.
• Worked on a claim brought in the DIFC involving claims of underpayment of bonus, breach of whistleblower protections, unlawful competition, and misuse of confidential information.

Sophie has experience with business protection cases or claims containing allegations of misuse of confidential information, civil fraud and other breaches of contract.

• Acting as a junior (led by Gavin Mansfield KC, Matthew Sheridan and Alex Francis) in High Court litigation involving two departing executives and allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and unlawful means conspiracy (the case ultimately settled at trial: Guy Carpenter and Company Limited & Ors v Howden Group Holdings Limited & ors (2023)).
• Working on a claim brought in the DIFC involving claims of underpayment of bonus, breach of whistleblower protections, unlawful competition, and misuse of confidential information.
• Drafting a Particulars of Claim in the High Court for breach of contract, breach of the equitable duty of confidence, and unlawful means conspiracy.
• Drafting a Particulars of Claim in the High Court for breach of contract in respect of breaches of restrictive covenants.

Sophie has interest in all areas of commercial law, including contract claims, shareholder disputes and civil fraud claims.

• Drafting a High Court defence in relation to a claim for breach of directors’ duty.
• Assisting in a seven-day commercial High Court civil fraud.
• Acting as junior counsel in a 9-day unfair prejudice trial in the Insolvency and Companies Court, which also involved a claim of unlawful means conspiracy.
• Assisting in the preparation for a High Court case involving economic torts of causing loss by unlawful means and unlawful means conspiracy.
• Acting as sole counsel in the County Court for trial concerning an alleged breach of contract.
• Appearing in the County Court for an allocation hearing and a directions hearing in separate contract disputes.
• Drafting an amended defence in respect of a claim for breach of contract.
• Acting as junior counsel in two separate cases in the County Court, representing the claimant in relation to a discrimination claim in the refusal to provide services (contrary to section 29 EqA 2010).
• Drafting a skeleton argument in relation to an application for an extension to file and serve a defence within the High Court.
• Advising on alternative service in a High Court claim for breach of contract.

Sophie has a keen interest in developing her sports law practice.

Sophie has authored several articles for LawinSport and has acted as moderator for a panel on Anti-Doping at LawinSport’s Global Summit 2024. Sophie is also a member of the SCMP Legal Advice Service.

• Assisting Lydia Banerjee in a sports-related investigation into the strengths and weaknesses of one of the organisation’s Olympic programmes, which included investigation into safeguarding concerns.
• Drafting Points of Claim in a dispute between a football club, an ex-player, and the player’s intermediary. She also advised on winding up as a means of collecting the ex-players’ and intermediary’s money from the club.
• Drafting Points of Response in a Rule K Arbitration between an intermediary company, and an ex-employee.

Throughout her tenancy Sophie has worked on various investigations, ranging from investigations into specific grievances, to investigations into complaints about the culture of an organisation.