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About Jo

Jo specialises in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment and partnership law. She has a wealth of experience in providing strategic, pragmatic and commercial advice to a wide range of UK businesses, partnerships and individuals.

In Legal 500 2024 Jo continues to be ranked in the ‘Hall of fame’ for her Partnership work and is described as being “at the top of her game. She is a highly accomplished litigator and negotiator with an impressive client roster, she is calm under pressure, has a mastery of the detail of her cases and is an incredibly effective lawyer.” Jo is listed in The Lawyer Hot 100 2024, who describe her as a “law star” after her “exceptional 2023.” In Chambers UK 2024, Jo has been individually ranked in Band 1 in both the ‘Partnerships – Contentious’ and the ‘Senior Executive’ categories and sources say, “Jo is an incredible operator and highly experienced practitioner. She is very focused, robust and commercially astute. She is on the ball and client-focused” and “Jo has a tenacious approach and gets very good results for clients.”

Jo focuses on providing solutions driven and incisive advice to her clients within clear timescales. She maintains a focussed and realistic approach to her clients’ objectives and has a strong reputation for achieving the best outcome for clients through perseverance and skill in a broad range of complex and contentious workplace issues.

She has substantial experience of representing clients in the High Court and Employment Tribunals where she works closely with clients to devise litigation strategies to meet their aims and objectives. She also has significant expertise in arbitration processes including expedited arbitrations where urgent cases demand swift decisions.

Jo also has a wealth of experience in leading regulatory bodies, partnerships and other corporate clients through highly complex external and internal investigations involving serious issues (often of public interest), including acting as independent investigator in relation to whistleblowing matters and allegations of wrongdoing against senior employees or partners. A number of these investigations are within regulated industries and therefore involve dealing with significant regulatory bodies and ensuring that the investigation meets the relevant regulatory requirements. The work requires sensitive, and pragmatic handling, often involving gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and producing a report setting out not just findings of fact but often recommendations which allow the organisation to move forward appropriately.

Jo acts for a number of corporate employers and professional partnerships covering all of their employment and partnership needs. She regularly advises on boardroom disputes; sensitive and complex investigations; whistleblowing disclosures; restructuring and redundancies; performance, discrimination and departure issues; and employment policies and procedures.

She also has considerable experience in acting for executives and partners in financial institutions, professional partnerships, private equity funds and insurance firms with a particular focus on handling high value discrimination claims; senior executive and partner severances; compliance with regulatory obligations; team departures; whistleblowing; bonus claims; restrictive covenants; wrongful and unfair dismissal; and changing terms and conditions of employment.

Recent Experience

  • Acting for several FTSE 100 C-Suite clients and Fund Managers in respect of their high value (often seven figures) and often complex departure terms.
  • Acting for a number of City law firms, financial institutions and SMEs in successfully defending claims for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, race and religious discrimination, sex discrimination/harassment and age discrimination.
  • Acting as independent investigator in an investigation related to serious allegations made against a senior employee within a regulated organisation.
  • Acting in high value team and individual moves in the professional services, financial and pharmaceutical sectors (often involving High Court proceedings or arbitral proceedings).
  • Representing individual Partners in general partnerships and limited liability partnerships in relation to discrimination, whistle blowing and bad faith situations often involving the successful negotiation of high value and dignified departure terms.
  • Acting for regulatory bodies in relation to investigations, internal audit and governance matters.

Professional Memberships

  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • Employment Lawyers’ Association
  • Association of Partnership Practitioners
  • London Solicitors Litigation Association

Career Experience

2021 to 2023: Senior Partner, Winckworth Sherwood

2010 to 2021: Partner, Winckworth Sherwood

1995 to 2010: Partner, Dawsons

1990 to 1995: Solicitor, Dawsons

1988 to 1990: Trainee, Dawsons

“She is very experienced in tough and complicated battles and is extremely practical and realistic.”

Chambers, 2023

“Jo Keddie is fantastic. She pursues her clients’ interests with huge tenacity.”

Legal 500, 2024

“She is the consummate professional – personable, knowledgeable and a highly trusted partner.”

Chambers, 2024

“Jo Keddie is an outstanding professional who always goes the extra mile for her clients.”

Legal 500, 2022

“Jo is very experienced and she understands how partnerships really operate. She’s very good for strategic advice.”

Chambers, 2024

“Jo Keddie is always available, tireless in her pursuit to get to the right decision for the business and the law.”

Legal 500 2022

“Jo has a first-class legal and commercial mind and is a fearsome strategist and negotiator.”

Chambers, 2023

“Jo is extremely experienced and knowledgeable in her field and gives clear strategic advice. She is also very personable and is always there for her clients. […] There’s a confidence to everything that she does and she is receptive to outside-the-box strategic thinking.”

Chambers, 2022

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 23 April 2024 | 9.30 - 10.00am

Quarterly Immigration Law webinar series

At these quarterly updates our immigration expert, Younes Ech-Chadli, will cover all the immigration law changes happening as the year[…..]

Online.


Speakers: Younes Ech-Chadli

Tuesday 10 September 2024 | 9.30 - 10.00am

Quarterly Immigration Law webinar series

At these quarterly updates our immigration expert, Younes Ech-Chadli, will cover all the immigration law changes happening as the year progresses.[…..]

Online.


Speakers: Younes Ech-Chadli

Tuesday 26 November 2024 | 9.30 - 10.00am

Quarterly Immigration Law webinar series

At these quarterly updates our immigration expert, Younes Ech-Chadli, will cover all the immigration law changes happening as the year[…..]

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Speakers: Younes Ech-Chadli