(May 9, 2017) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, is pleased to announce that GQ Employment Law, a leading labour and employment law boutique in London, is joining its global platform. Following Littler’s expansion into France, Germany and Canada over the past two years and the continued development of its Latin America practice, the agreement with GQ is part of a global growth strategy that includes combining with labour and employment focused firms in key markets through Littler Global.
“Establishing a presence in the U.K. through a firm known for its high-quality and innovative approach to advising employers is an exciting step in the continued growth of Littler Global,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “The U.K. is an important market for our clients and, with our recent expansion into France and Germany, we now have more than 200 lawyers in major markets in Europe, reinforcing our position as the leading provider of employment law counsel to multinational companies. It is great to have such a strong London practice to jointly serve our collective client base.”
The GQ Employment Law team consists of 16 lawyers representing companies based in the U.K., the United States and throughout Europe in a wide variety of industries, including financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, luxury goods, energy, retail and manufacturing. The firm advises clients on a range of contentious and non-contentious employment-related matters, including LLP and partnership disputes, employment issues in transactions and restructurings, breach of restrictive covenants and other contract disputes, investigations and white collar crime, and developing and updating workforce policies. GQ Employment Law was founded in 2010 by partners Jon Gilligan and Paul Quain and has been recognized by Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and other publications as a leading labour and employment law practice.
“We are delighted to be working as the newest member of the broad Littler Global platform. The ability to collaborate with top-notch, specialist employment lawyers across several international markets will be of significant benefit to our clients,” said Gilligan. “Littler shares our commitment to providing exceptional and personalised service to clients on a range of complex employment matters and we look forward to joining forces with the firm to enhance our capabilities.” Quain added: “We will immediately begin sharing client representation, Knowledge Management tools and technology resources, and look forward to providing a seamless service to our combined clients.”
Stephan Swinkels, a shareholder who helps lead the development and integration of the firm’s global practice, noted that “GQ Employment Law has already formed a strong working partnership with Littler Global members Fromont Briens in France and vangard in Germany, and will strengthen the services provided to employers in Western Europe and around the world.” In addition to Swinkels, the team from GQ Employment Law will work closely with Seattle-based Littler Shareholder Tahl Tyson, who is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, and has extensive experience advising clients on U.K. employment matters.
“The U.K. is the world’s fifth largest economy and home to several of the biggest global corporations,” said Peter Susser, Littler’s Global Practice Leader and chair of the firm’s International Employment Law practice. “The U.S. and the U.K. are closely connected on trade matters, and that relationship will likely only deepen once the U.K. officially leaves the European Union. The addition of GQ Employment Law will further enhance our ability to advise employers with business interests in the U.K. at this very consequential time.”
Littler’s international operations span three continents – North America, South America and Europe – and include Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and Venezuela. The firm’s global capabilities also include U.S.-based lawyers with exceptional international experience, who are dually licensed practitioners in Australia, Brazil, China and South Africa, among other countries.
About Littler
Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice, with more than 1,200 attorneys in over 75 offices worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and serves as a single-source solution provider to the global employer community. Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for 75 years. Littler Global is the collective trade name for an international legal practice, the practicing member entities of which are separate and distinct professional firms.
About GQ Employment Law
GQ Employment Law is a specialist firm of employment lawyers, based in the City of London. Founded in 2010, the firm’s team rivals or exceeds many larger firms’ employment capabilities in terms of both size and experience. Offering contentious and non-contentious advice, GQ resolves employment, LLP and partnership issues and disputes for employers in a variety of sectors from financial services to technology, retail and luxury goods. GQ is recognised as a leader in its field by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, which describes the firm as the “rising stars of the industry.”
