Paul Maynard

Paul is a leading employment solicitor, who has a particular expertise in areas where there is often a cross over with other areas of law such as shareholder and partnership disputes, breaches of director and other fiduciary duties, the enforcement of post termination restrictions and the protection of confidential information and other intellectual property. He has been at the forefront of employment and commercial litigation for almost three decades. Upon qualification in 1998, Paul was awarded the Law Society’s National Prize for Outstanding Achievement and in 2006 was awarded a master’s degree in advanced employment practice with distinction from De Montfort University. He is one of the few lawyers in the country to successfully challenge the UK Government in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He has been involved in many of the leading business protection cases of the last two decades including Crowson Fabrics v Rider [2007] – preparatory steps to compete being in breach of the duty of fidelity; Whitmar Publications v Gamage [2013] – the first injunction to prevent misuse of LinkedIn contacts; Planon v Gilligan [2022] – the correct approach to the enforceability of a non-compete clause PSN Recruitment (t/a Cosmopolitan Recruitment) v Ludley and Greenscape [2023] assessment of damages for passing off in IPEC and Willow Oak Developments v Silverwood [2006] – refusal to agree new restrictive covenants can justify dismissal. He has been instructed in many other cases that have been resolved successfully before judgment, sometimes on confidential terms including a long running business diversion claim by the F3 Group against two former directors, which settled for a substantial sum following successful applications for injunctions and specific disclosure. Paul is regularly sought out just to advise on business protection issues in the context of both disputes and transactions, having authored a leading international textbook on the subject for the Institute for European and International Law in Vienna. Much of his work involves litigation in the High Court for shareholders and business partners, often where substantial sums and the future of the very businesses are at stake. In such cases a mastery knowledge of the law and facts is a given; it is the formulation and implementation of the overarching case strategy from first meeting to trial that is usually the difference between success and failure and is where Paul excels. Paul takes pride in achieving innovative solutions to help businesses and business owners resolve their problems. He is regularly instructed in respect of partnership exits, derivative claims and unfair prejudice petitions, utilising his experience of both employment and commercial law to unlock often the most intractable disputes. Many employers, including some large London law firms, have Paul on speed dial to help with all of their employment law needs, whether it is to implement a workforce restructure, to undertake an independent investigation, to assist in a disciplinary or grievance processes or to tenaciously defend an employment tribunal claim. Additionally, he is frequently instructed by schools and other educational establishments in both the private and public sector, care homes, dental practices and GP surgeries including their federations, national occupational health providers and large employers in the tech and engineering sectors. Paul also represents senior executives, professionals and those from the sporting, political and media world. Much of his recent work has been in the emerging area of free speech and belief discrimination where he has been instructed to represent clients by the Free speech Union.