Emily Knight is Of Counsel in the Employment team, advising both employers and senior executives on all aspects of employment law. Emily advises clients across a wide range of business sectors including financial services, private equity, technology, energy, commercial property, luxury goods and retail.
Emily specialises in steering senior executives through high-stakes and career-threatening situations such as workplace investigations, team moves and negotiated exits. Most recently, Emily has acted for several high-profile C-Suite executives in connection with sensitive investigations involving allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and workplace relationships. She also has extensive experience of complex litigation, both in the High Court and Employment Tribunal.
Day-to-day Emily provides HR assistance to corporate clients on all issues which arise during the employment life cycle.
Emily co-leads the firm's Women in Wealth Group and mentors emerging British luxury brands as part of Walpole's 'Brands of Tomorrow' programme. She also sits on the Investigations Steering Committee and regularly delivers training on investigations and workplace conduct.
Emily has been named as a Rising Star (Employers) in the Legal 500 for the last three years.
Key Experience
Investigations
- Acting for multiple CEOs of FTSE100 listed companies in relation to sensitive internal investigations involving conduct allegations.
- Advising an employer on a complex investigation process involving allegations of sexual assault against the CEO.
- Acting for a well-known British film producer in respect of successive complaints about bullying and sexual harassment.
- Acting for a high-profile CEO in relation to a global investigation into allegations of a white supremacy workplace culture.
- Acting for a CEO of a Nasdaq-listed company in relation to conduct allegations and subsequent shareholder class actions.
Litigation
- Acting for a private equity firm defending a multi-million discrimination and equal pay claim brought by a senior executive.
- Acting for a hyperscale data centre provider defending a whistleblowing claim brought by its former CEO.
- Assisting a large education provider with a multi-million share ownership dispute.
- Acting for Sunningdale Golf Club against a high-profile breach of contract claim, involving issues of contractual discretion and natural justice.
Advisory
- Advising an engineering company on a sensitive redundancy exercise involving its senior management team.
- Assisting a multinational corporation on restructuring programmes across Europe.
- Providing regular ad-hoc employment advice to one of the major luxury goods and fashion groups.
- Acting for a high-profile CEO exiting a listed luxury goods company to join a competitor.
- Acting for HNWIs in respect of disputes involving domestic staff.
Career History
Of Counsel, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Clyde & Co LLP
Trainee, Clyde & Co LLP (qualified September 2013)
LPC, BPP
MA (Cantab) English Literature, Cambridge