Sophie Cashell

Sophie has a busy employment practice. Whilst she has vast experience in an array of matters, she has gained particular experience in whistleblowing, discrimination, TUPE, dismissal cases (constructive unfair or wrongful) and unlawful deductions.

Sophie’s experience extends to all stages of litigation and her advisory work has included:

• Advising on the employment status of two individuals providing services through a partnership.
• Advising on whether there was likely to be a service provision change and therefore TUPE
• Advising on the employment implications of changing terms and conditions to employees (where TUPEand collective agreements were relevant).
• Advising on the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill and its potential implications on the client’s business and remuneration terms.
• Advising on matters related to the calculation of the national minimum wage.
• Advising on the legality of an initiative which relied on the positive-action provisions of the Equality Act.

Sophie has substantial drafting experience, and has drafted Grounds of Complaint or Grounds of Resistance including the following:

• Drafting two Grounds of Resistance for a respondent in a later consolidated TUPE-related dispute on the basis that there was no relevant transfer.
• Drafting Grounds of Complaints for constructive unfair dismissal, maternity and pregnancy discrimination, detriment and automatic unfair dismissal (involving claims brought under ERA 1996 and MAPLR 1999).
• Drafting a Grounds of Complaint in relation to the failure to inform and consult (under the TUPE 2006 regulations), failure to collectively consult (under TULR(C)A 1992), as well as for automatic and ordinary unfair dismissal.
• Drafting Grounds of Resistance denying that the individual was an employee and therefore not entitled to the compensation sought.
• Drafting various Grounds of Resistance in claims for unfair dismissal (conduct and redundancy related dismissals), constructive unfair dismissal, discrimination (pertaining to most protected characteristics and involving claims pursuant tos.13, 15, 18, 19, 20, and 26 Equality Act 2010), victimisation, and whistleblowing detriment.

Sophie regularly appears in the Employment Tribunal for preliminary hearings and multi-day final hearings, appearing for claimants and respondents (both individual or corporate). Examples of her advocacy experience includes:

• Making and resisting applications for anonymity orders;
• Drafting skeleton argument in respect of a wasted costs application;
• Making applications for strike out or deposit orders. Including successfully striking out a claimant’s claim for non-compliance with tribunal orders, and another claim for failure to bring the claim within the time limits;
• Successfully arguing there had been a TUPE transfer in respect of an employee who had been employed at a fitness centre;
• Successfully striking out claimants’ claims in relation to employment status;
• Successfully representing a respondent in a two-day constructive unfair dismissal claim, and another respondent in a three-day unfair dismissal claim;
• Representing other respondents in multi-day unfair and/or wrongful dismissal claims;
• Acting as junior counsel representing multiple respondents in a two-week whistleblowing, unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claim;
• Representing a claimant in his unfair and wrongful dismissal claim;
• Representing a respondent in a claim for automatic unfair dismissal (relating to pregnancy, childbirth or maternity);
• Successfully acting for a respondent in a hearing to determine claims of direct race discrimination and unauthorised deduction of wages;
• Preparing for a four-day hearing to determine the claimant’s complaint of indirect race discrimination and victimisation;
• Successfully representing respondent in a four-day claim for race, sex or age discrimination;
• Successfully representing respondent in a four-day unfair dismissal and disability discrimination The issues had been refined following obtaining strike out and/or deposit orders in relation to certain aspects of the claim at a previous preliminary hearing;
• Successfully representing three respondents at a seven-day hearing to determine complaints of race discrimination, victimisation, unlawful deduction of wages and unfair dismissal.

Sophie has also represented clients at judicial mediation preliminary hearings, which have successfully resulted in the settlement of claims.

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

• Acted as a junior in an age discriminationand 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; and
• Assisted in a claim brought in the DFIC involving claims of underpayment of bonus, breach of whistleblower protections, unlawful competition, and misuse of confidential information.

In addition to statutory employment, Sophie has experience with business protection and High Court litigation. For example, Sophie was a junior in High Court litigation (led by Gavin Mansfield KC, and with Matthew Sheridan and Alex Francis) involving two departing executives and allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and unlawful means conspiracy.

Sophie has significant interest in all areas of commercial law, including contract claims, shareholder disputes and civil fraud claims. Her experience includes:

• Appearing in the Companies Court to apply for an adjournment in relation to a winding up petition.
• Drafting a Part 8 claim in relation to the correct construction of a Deed of Departure.
• Drafting a skeleton argument for an interim injunction to restrain an unlawful campaign of cold calling, a preservation order for evidence, an order for specific disclosure, and permission to serve the application outside the jurisdiction.
• Drafting a High Court defence in relation to a claim for breach of directors’ duty. The claimant sought a declaration that the director was a bad leaver, and that the claimant was entitled to his shares at nominal value.
• Assisting in a seven-day commercial High Court civil fraud This included attending client conferences, drafting a note on the helpful witness evidence adduced during trial, and assisting with the closing submissions.
• Advising on the potential challenges the defendant may have to the claimant’s claim that the defendant forfeited their right to any Earn Up Payment pursuant to a share purchase agreement. This involved considerations of unlawful restraints of trade and penalty clauses.
• Advising on the merits of a dispute involving directors’ loans and drafting a note on points for a summary judgmentapplication in the case.
• Advising on the potential causes of action, and the conflicts issues (as to applicable law and jurisdiction) which arose, involving a dispute over a bitcoin-related joint venture.
• 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 meansand unlawful means conspiracy.
• Appearing in the County Court for trial and for an allocation hearing in separate breach of contract
• Appearing in County Court directions hearing and drafting amended Defence in respect of claim for breach of contract.
• Acting as junior counsel, representing the claimant in the County Court in relation to a discrimination claim in the refusal to provide services (contrary to section 29 Equality Act 2010).
• Drafting Skeleton Argument in relation to application for an extension to file and serve a defence within the High Court.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for a claim involving breach of contract, the equitable duty of confidence, and unlawful means conspiracy.
• Advising on alternative service in a High Court claim for breach of contract.

Sophie has a keen interest in Littleton’s sports law practice. In particular, Sophie has had experience in:

• 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.

Sophie has authored several articles for LawinSport, and 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.

Throughout her tenancy Sophie has assisted with at least four different investigations, ranging from investigations into specific grievances, to investigations into complaints about the culture of an organisation.

Sophie has a keen interest in cases which involve elements of public law. Her background in human rights and public law assists with these elements as they arise. In particular, Sophie has previously worked as a research assistant for Human Rights at Sea, transcribing evidence of human rights violations and regularly liaising with the CEO. This built on the experience Sophie acquired when volunteering in the Human Rights Implementation Centre at the University of Bristol.

Sophie is well placed to assist with mediation or arbitration cases given her academic background. At university her studies included international dispute settlement and she received an award for receiving the best mark in Transnational Arbitration.

2015 – 2019: LLB Law with Continental Study in Europe (First Class), University of Bristol and Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium 

2020: Bar Practice Training Course (LLM) (Outstanding & Distinction), The University of Law, London

Employment Law Bar Association

Employment Lawyers Association

COMBAR

Inner Temple, Member

July 2024: LawinSport: Draining the doping swamp: sanctioning an athlete’s entourage using the WADA Code

2016: University of Bristol,

Spanish (basic)