Barrister Profile

Lucinda Harris

Year of Call2004

Profile

Lucinda is available to accept instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice.

Appointments

2011:  Member of the Panel of Counsel for the Commission of Equality & Human Rights.

2010:  Junior Counsel to the Crown (C Panel)

November 2007 - March 2008: Judicial Assistant to Mr Justice Aikens (now Lord Justice Aikens) in the substantial and high profile litigation in the Commercial Court which arose out of the collapse of the Box Clever Group. 

Areas of Practice

Employment

Lucinda practises in all areas of employment law including discrimination, whistleblowing, restrictive covenants and breach of confidence, wrongful and unfair dismissal (including redundancy), TUPE, working time and jurisdictional issues. She acts for claimants and respondents and her clients include banks, insurance companies, high street chains, charities and a wide range of public and private sector clients and private individuals.

Lucinda regularly appears in Employment Tribunals throughout the UK and has represented clients in the EAT and the High Court.

Her recent work includes:

  • O'Cathail v Transport for London EAT (2011): represented the respondent in an appeal concerning the EAT’s jurisdiction to extend the 42 day time limit for appealing against a Tribunal’s judgment.
  • Dr O v London Deanery & Ors (2011): represented the respondents in a complex race discrimination and victimisation claim listed for 11 days.  The case involved obtaining a deposit order and dismissal of the proceedings at the outset of the full merits hearing on grounds of the claimant's non-compliance.
  • X v Y (2010): advised a former senior partner of a city law firm in his claims for disability discrimination and whistleblowing.
  • Gearing v Laing O'Rourke (2010): represented the respondent in striking out claims for unfair dismissal and age discrimination brought by a senior tax accountant.
  • A v B (2010): advised an international fashion company in a disability discrimination and constructive dismissal claim brought by a senior manager at its flagship store.
  • N & H v HMRC (2010): represented the respondent in an unlawful deduction from wages claim with significant ramifications for a large number of employees. 
  • A Plc (2010): advised a well-known international company on national minimum wage and holiday pay issues.
  • K v Pizza Express (2010): represented the respondent in a claim for unfair dismissal and race discrimination involving striking out part of the claim and obtaining a deposit order in respect of another element of the claim.
  • Metropolitan Police Commissioner and Ors v Eioyaccu (2009) UKEAT/0023/09/SM: represented the appellant in an appeal against a finding of unfair dismissal and no reduction for contributory fault.
  • L v CT (2009): represented the claimant in a whistleblowing claim, successfully negotiating settlement mid way through the cross examination of the main respondent witness.
  • Vidal Sasson v H & A (2008):  represented the ex-employees (hairdressers) in an interim injunction application to enforce restrictive covenants (area and non-dealing) against them.  

Personal Injury

Lucinda advises and acts for claimants and defendants in a wide variety of personal injury claims, including industrial and workplace injuries, road traffic accidents, tripping claims, accidents on the public highway, occupier's liability and defective premises claims, as well as CICB and MIB claims (traced and untraced).  She has also represented families at a number of inquests and is willing to act on a pro bono basis or at a reduced rate for those of limited means.

Lucinda's work includes drafting pleadings and schedules of loss, and advising on liability, evidence and the quantum of general and special damages. She has experience of fast track and multi track litigation (pre-trial applications and substantive hearings).

Her recent work includes:

  • High value stress at work claim - Lucinda is being led by Robert Glancy QC.
  • Lucinda is being led by Robert Weir QC in several cases involving catastrophic injuries (liability disputed)
  • Advising the claimant in relation to his claim arising out of an accident at work which occurred in Libya. The claim involved complicated jurisdictional and contractual issues.
  • Advising one of the defendants to an assault claim in which the claimant allegedly sustained severe psychiatric injuries in addition to physical injuries.
  • Representing a family at an inquest where the deceased was the victim of an RTA and then received negligent emergency care by the hospital treating him.  The coroner gave a narrative verdict, recording that  death was a probable consequence of the initial accident and that the hospital’s negligence had then rendered it a virtual certainty.

Commercial and Professional Negligence

Lucinda has experience of a wide range of commercial matters, with a particular interest in insurance and reinsurance, commercial contractual disputes, and conflicts of law and jurisdiction issues. As a pupil Lucinda worked alongside Colin Wynter QC in a number of international insurance and reinsurance disputes, including Brit Syndicates Limited & Others v Italaudit SpA  and Grant Thornton International [2006] EWHC 341 (construction, breach of warranty, avoidance). Lucinda also advises on  professional negligence claims, particularly solicitors' negligence.

Professional Regulatory Work

Lucinda is developing her practice in professional regulatory work and has appeared on behalf of the General Dental Council.

Publications

Contributing author of Tottel's Discrimination Law

Co-author (with Oliver Hyams) of a chapter on post-termination restraints in Managing People in a Legal Business - a Law Society publication

Seminars

Lucinda has lectured on several subjects  Topics include:

  • Professional negligence and employment: common pitfalls (with Andrew Burns)
  • Advocacy in the employment tribunals
  • ET trends and tactics (with Akash Nawbatt)
  • Remedies in the employment tribunals
  • Discrimination Law (with Ben Lynch)
  • Age Discrimination (with Ben Lynch)
  • Stringer and Pereda: the aftermath

Education

2005 - Passed the New York State Bar Exams

2004-2005 - Harvard Law School, LLM

2003-2004 - Inns of Court School of Law, Bar Vocational Course

2000-2003 - Cambridge University (Downing College) BA (First Class Honours)

Further Information

 

Lucinda has been admitted to the New York State Bar.

2004 - Whilst at Harvard Lucinda worked on the amicus curiae brief for the class action (sex discrimination) brought by 1.6 million plaintiffs against Wal-Mart.

July-Sept 2002 - Lucinda was an intern at the Capital Appeals Project, New Orleans, Louisiana (death penalty appeals)