Emma Gray

Counsel in the Employment team, with a breadth of experience across advisory, contentious and transactional employment law matters. Emma has exceptional technical skills and regularly manages large employment mandates, often comprising the most complex employment law issues, including multi-jurisdictional reorganisations, sector-defining transactions with an anti-trust overlay, and reputationally-sensitive employment disputes. Emma has extensive experience advising on employment aspects of fraud and regulatory investigations, executive terminations and malus/clawback disputes. 

As a working mother, Emma is a strong believer in the firm’s efforts to support, retain, and promote a culture of diversity and inclusion for women, parents, and underrepresented lawyers of all backgrounds. This includes embracing agile working arrangements and part-time working arrangements.

Work highlights

• Britvic Plc on its board-approved cross-border takeover by Carlsberg A/S for £3.3bn (following the rejection of earlier offers at a lower share price), negotiating market-leading employment protections for staff.
• Anglo American on its successful defence of a £38.6bn takeover bid by BHP, including advising on retention and incentivisation arrangements, key protections for staff and a complex pre-completion cross-border divestment plan and reorganization proposed by the bidder.
• CK Hutchison on employment aspects of a sector-defining merger of Three UK and Vodafone UK, combining their respective telecommunications operations to create the largest mobile operator in the UK.
• McKesson Corporation on the strategic disposals of its businesses in the UK and Europe.
• BC Partners on their competitive public offer to acquire Kin & Carta Plc.
• Brookfield on a complex cross-border reorganisation of its data centres.
• HG on the employment aspects of its successful acquisition of Focus Group, a UK-based provider of essential business technology services.
• BlackRock on its successful acquisition of a controlling stake in Lanes Group – a UK based water/waste water solutions company.
• A South African bank on a complex investigation into potential tax evasion.
• Multiple banks on complex malus and clawback disputes.