Anna Beale (Co-Chair): Anna is a barrister at Cloisters chambers and a fee-paid Employment Judge. She has specialised in employment and discrimination law for almost twenty years and is recommended as a leading Employment junior by Chambers UK and the Legal 500. Anna is the co-author of “Employment Law and Human Rights” (3rd ed, OUP, 2018), “Age and Employment” (European Commission, 2011) and “Discrimination in Employment: a claims handbook” (LAG, 2013).
Robert Lewis (Co-Chair): Partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP advising employers and senior executives on all aspects of employment law, with a particular interest in the financial services, education and sports sectors. Robert trained at Farrer & Co and qualified in 2013. Prior to converting to law, Robert taught history at a secondary school in Birmingham.
Madeline Stanley (Vice-Chair): Junior Barrister at Old Square Chambers
Emma Zarb (Vice-Chair): Senior Associate at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe (UK) Ltd advising on all aspects of employment law. Elected to the Executive Committee in 2019 to try to encourage more junior members of the profession to attend future ILS seminars and events.
Nike Balogun (Treasurer): Circuit Judge sitting at South-Eastern Circuit, based at Isleworth Crown Court with effect from 09 October 2023.
She will be known as Her Honour Judge Balogun. Nike was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 1992. She was appointed a Chairman of the Employment Tribunal in 2003 as a salaried Employment Judge in 2009 and as a Recorder in 2022.
Rachel Wedderspoon (Secretary): Employment Judge
Shubha Banerjee: I am a 20 year pqe employment lawyer and am undertaking a degree in Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity and working as an inclusion manager for Leigh Day.
Iain Birrell: Partner and the National Case Management Coordinator for Thompsons’s specialist Trade Union Law Group with 21 years’ experience. Also a member of the Employment Law Committee of the Law Society.
Clive Day: Partner in the Employment team, Knights Plc. I set up the ILS East Midlands Branch in 2019. Having served as a co-opted member for several years, I feel I can add a regional perspective to a formal Committee post.
EJ Andrew James: Former Solicitor at Slater & Gordon (UK) LLP. Elected onto the Committee in 2019 after being a co-opted member of the ILS Executive Committee for many years due to his role in organising Sheffield meetings for the Society.
EJ Omar Khalil: Former Head of Legal for Make UK’s (previously EEF) Key Accounts. He was also responsible for managing Make UK’s HR and legal teams in the South (Reading & Bristol).
Omar joined EEF in 1999 as a legal adviser. A qualified solicitor, he worked in a private practice in Chiswick, London for 6 years before joining EEF, specialising in civil litigation, property law and employment law. At EEF, who represent 2500 manufacturing, engineering and technology businesses, he has acquired vast experience of working in employment litigation, non-contentious employment law and employment relations in England, Scotland and Wales. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association, as well as sitting on the National User Group for Employment Tribunals in England and Wales. In the past, he’s represented EEF’s views on policy developments to the Ministry of Justice. Omar was appointed on to the Executive Committee of the Industrial Law society (ILS) in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. He has also spoken on Brexit & Employment Law at the Westminster Employment Forum.
Declan O’Dempsey: Barrister at Cloisters and a fee paid EJ (Scotland and in NE Region England). Declan has served as an Executive Committee member. My aim: to increase membership diversity nationally; increase the regions’ role and ensure ILS uses all platforms for dissemination and gathering of employment law ideas.
Suresh Patel: A (relatively) new member of the Society, I am very keen to become more involved with it. Also, as a second-career “juniorlawyer, with a part-fee-earning / part-professional support remit, I would hope to bring a number of helpful perspectives to the Executive Committee’s work.
Michael Reed: Until 2022 I was Principal Legal Officer, Employment at the Free Representation Unit. I now sit as a portfolio judge in the Social Entitlement Chamber and the Employment Tribunal. I am a longstanding member of the Committee and wish to continue supporting the work of the ILS.
Anita Vadgama: Legal Director at Didlaw Limited, acting predominantly for Claimants, particularly those with disability and sex discrimination claims. Committed to maintaining the wide spectrum of involvement and participation in the Society from lawyers, trade unions and academics on all aspects of employment law and increasing my involvement with the Society.
Max Winthrop: Partner in Sintons LLP in Newcastle. Max has over 30 years’ experience ofemployment law and has taught at both Northumbria and Durham Universities. From 2017 to 2020 he was Chair of the Law Society’s Employment Law Committee and gave evidence on their behalf on NDAs to the Women and Equalities Select Committee