Barrister Profile

Georgina Hirsch

Year of Call 2009

Profile

Georgina joined the Bar in 2009 after a successful 15 year career as a solicitor. During that time she spent 6 years in a Legal Aid firm, specialising in employment, personal Injury and Judicial Review gaining advocacy experience in ETs, CICA appeals, and interlocutory hearings. She then joined the Engineering Employer's Federation, gaining experience of respondent work within the field of employment, before becoming Head of Employment at Taylor Willcocks solicitors.

 In her last 7 years as a solicitor she worked in-house as Director of Legal Services at what became the UK’s largest union, with 2.2 million members covering engineering, transport, banking, health professionals, printers, construction workers, and many others. 

Comments on her work as a barrister:

“Excellent at providing good clear advice, she is robust in her views and liked by clients – she is highly recommended” David Scott, Minster Law

“Georgina is very personable, easy to speak to and demonstrates a good grasp of her cases and the law” Attiq Malik, Pictons

Employment

Georgina has represented Claimants and Respondents in a range of employment tribunal final hearings and procedural hearings.  She has advised and represented parties as sole counsel on :

  • complex multi-issue claims on disability discrimination
  • protected disclosures
  • race discrimination
  • age discrimination
  • unfair dismissal
  • constructive dismissal claims
  • equal pay (including drafting submissions on Serious Doubts on an untested equal pay point which successfully settle thereafter)
  • flexible working regulations
  • TUPE

Personal Injury

Georgina has acted for Claimants and Defendants in personal injury matters, including drafting pleadings and advices and representing at trial. Her experience includes the range of ‘6 pack’ workplace claims, as well as stress claims and RTAs.

She has also represented a number of Claimants in Criminal Injuries Compensation appeals.

Seminars

Her lecturing experience ranges from two years teaching ILEX Civil Litigation in the late '90s, to numerous employment law courses both for managers and for trade unionists, and legal conference presentations including IRS and American Bar Association international Labor Law Conferences in Washington and Beijing. Past publications include co-authoring the IER booklet on the Employment Act 2008, and her own 'Legal Eagle' monthly employment law column for the Daily Mirror.

  • IER October Update Conference 2010
  • Panel speaker at American Bar Association Labor Law International Conferences in Beijing 2008 and in Washington 2009.
  • IER Employment Act 2008 Conference
  • IRS Employment Act 2008 Conference
  • Delivered the response to a paper given by Katherine Apps at a Seminar run by the Centre for European Legal Studies at Cambridge University Law Faculty in September 2008 on the Viking  and Laval ECJ strike law cases.ILEX Civil Litigation Course
  •  Lectures and workshops for EEF member companies and Taylor Willcocks business clients on Employment Law issues

Appointments

Prior to joining the Bar, Georgina occupied a number of senior positions within the employment law arena:

  • Senior Management Team of Unite the Union
  • Core merger team for merger of Amicus and Transport & General Worker Unions
  • Steering Committee for formation of global union - Unite and the United Steelworkers Union (USA)
  • Discrimination Law Association Executive Committee
  • Institute of Employment Rights Executive Committee

Articles

Gerogina lectures and writes regularly on employment and personal injury matters. Recent articles include:

Professional memberships

ILS Executive Committee, APIL, ELA, ELBA, PIBA

Education

2010 Mediation Training
2003 MBA, Open University
1993 Law Society Finals, College of Law
1992 Diploma in Law, City University
1991 Politics and Social Policy, Sheffield University