Solicitor
Patrick Simpson joined RIAA Barker Gillette as a solicitor apprentice in July 2017, where he changed seats generally every 12 months to gain valuable legal experience in all areas of the law. During that time, Patrick spent over 18 months in our employment department. Consequently, it was during this time that Patrick first thought of becoming an employment solicitor. In 2021, Patrick Simpson obtained his four-year law degree with first-class honours and subsequently went on to complete his Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
After a long journey, Patrick qualified as a solicitor in September 2023 and chose to qualify into the firm’s employment department. Patrick now works alongside mentor, partner and head of department Karen Cole. Patrick acts for both employees and employers across all industries with experience in the commercial real estate, financial and medical science sectors.
Patrick’s matters include both contentious and non-contentious employment work. He has experienced a range of Employment Tribunal proceedings, primarily for employers, typically for claims of discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Patrick advises on day-to-day employment law matters and has a unique understanding of employment law and business, having previously run his own SME retail events company.
Patrick Simpson is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA).
Education
Level 7 Apprenticeship Solicitor, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (2023). A level 7 course is the second-highest level qualification you can achieve and is equivalent to a master’s Degree. Patrick’s Level 7 Solicitor Apprenticeship included the following qualifications:
LLB (First Class), City, University of London (2021)
SQE1 (2022)
SQE 2 (2023)
Solicitor of England & Wales (Admitted 2023)
Expertise
Articles
Acas Early Conciliation Period Extended to 12 Weeks from 1 December 2025 – November 2025
Neuroinclusion in the workplace – May 2025
Supreme court ruling on referees’ employment status – April 2025
Business First Magazine – Spring Summer 2025
What is the Employment Rights Bill 2024? – November 2024
Redundancy facts and fictions – September 2024
Flexible working legislation updates: What employers need to know – July 2024
Electronic signatures and digital contracts – July 2024
Understanding Dyscalculia: Employer’s Guide – March 2024
An employee’s guide to settlement agreements – January 2024
Overzealous employee monitoring may overstep data protection boundaries – November 2023
Business First Magazine – October 2023
Checking your employment status – July 2023
Solicitor apprentice insight: employment seat – October 2020
Solicitor apprenticeship: 5 years, 4 months and 26 days to go… – February 2018
Employment law
Patrick Simpson has experience dealing with a wide range of employment law matters, including:
- alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options and the conciliation process through ACAS
- advising senior executives and directors as to their rights and duties
- employment terms and conditions
- contract disputes
- disciplinary and grievance processes
- discrimination
- dismissals
- drafting and reviewing employment contracts
- redundancies
- restrictive covenants
- settlement agreements
- staff handbooks and standalone policies
- workplace investigations
GDPR/Data protection
Patrick has experience in data protection and privacy matters, including conducting data protection and GDPR audits and data subject access requests.
Other experience
Corporate experience includes charity incorporations and registrations, including all associated policies, analysing articles of association and associated documentation in both new entities and existing companies and UK target company due diligence exercise on multi-million-pound investment, including considering all manner of commercial agreements and employment contracts.
Dispute resolution experience includes enforcement, including CCJs and attachment of earnings orders, insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, mediation, professional negligence claims, property litigation and shareholder disputes.
