Senior Associate Joanna Whymark joins from CMS UK

Specialist partnership and employment law firm Fox & Partners has announced the appointment of three new recruits, including senior associate Joanna Whymark, as part of its continuing growth strategy.

Joanna’s arrival builds on the firm’s other recent appointments of associate Claire Plumb and paralegal Jess Tomkinson as Fox & Partners expands its team in response to increased market demand for its services. Key growth trends during the pandemic have included an increase in High Court litigation instructions relating to business protection and employee competition in the financial services, professional services and insurance sectors.

Joanna has over 10 years’ experience in City law firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills and, most recently, CMS UK, where she has advised large employers in the financial services, professional services and technology sectors, as well as senior executives. She also has varied and extensive experience as employment counsel in industry, with a career history ranging from Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank, to Aon and Astrazeneca.

She is an experienced litigator and has worked on matters ranging from breach of contract, unfair dismissal and discrimination claims to injunctive relief and executive remuneration matters.
Joanna has also advised clients on matters relating to financial services regulation and data protection law, often linked to litigation. With an interest in diversity and inclusion relating to corporate governance, her broader employment law experience also includes general advisory work and employment matters arising from M&A and corporate restructurings.

Partner Caroline Field comments: “We are delighted to have Joanna, Claire and Jess join us to support our growth. During the pandemic there has been a significant increase in demand for our expertise, particularly relating to contentious matters involving team moves and other aspects of business protection, and this trend looks set to continue. Joanna’s High Court litigation experience will be of particular value as we find we are handling increasing numbers of instructions of this kind.”

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About Fox & Partners

Fox & Partners is described by the Legal 500 as “commercial, tenacious and effective”, with a team that is “razor-sharp and strategically gifted”, and “knowledgeable both of the law and of the niche regulatory aspects that could impact different sectors”. Based in the heart of the City the team has a strong reputation for resolving highly complex and contentious matters quickly and quietly.