Katherine Taunton

Katherine practises the full spectrum of employment law, in both the Tribunal and High Court.

As sole counsel, Katherine’s practice in the Employment Tribunal encompasses both unfair dismissal claims as well as complex multi-day trials involving allegations of whistleblowing and discrimination. Katherine is regularly instructed to advise from an early stage of proceedings. She has significant experience of procedural issues which may arise, such as applications for anonymity and restricted reporting orders.

Katherine is also regularly instructed as junior counsel in high-profile, high-value and complex Employment Tribunal and High Court litigation, including particular experience of claims in the financial services sector.

Katherine’s most significant employment instructions include:

• Acting (led by Jane McCafferty KC) for the corporate and individual respondents in a high-profile multi-week sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation claim in the Employment Tribunal brought by a former worker at a major UK bank.
• Representing Index on Censorship (led by Aileen McColgan KC) in its intervention in support of the appeal before the EAT in Forstater v CGD Europe & others [2021] IRLR 706, concerning the protection of gender critical beliefs under the Equality Act
• Acting (led by Jane McCafferty KC) for a large US financial services firm facing anti-money laundering whistleblowing allegations.

Katherine is a contributor to Tolley’s Employment Handbook.

Katherine acts in and advises on commercial and business protection matters, with particular experience of team moves, breach of confidence, conspiracy claims, and restrictive covenants. She acts for both individuals and companies and is experienced in High Court litigation (including at the interim stage), arbitrations, and multi-jurisdictional disputes. Some of her recent instructions include:

• Advising (unled) on the enforceability of non-compete covenants under employee incentive schemes.
• Acting for a leading insurer to pursue urgent interim relief against an ex-employee for breach of non-dealing and non-solicitation covenants (led by Amy Rogers).
• Acting as part of a counsel team in complex business protection litigation (involving LCIA and High Court proceedings against different defendants) brought by a leading US financial firm in respect of a confidential proprietary trading strategy (led by David Craig KC, Amy Rogers and Tom Ogg).
• Acting for a global financial institution in arbitral proceedings involving a former employee, in the context of parallel Employment Tribunal proceedings (led by Amy Rogers)
• Acting in multi-jurisdictional team move litigation in the High Court in England and in the Dubai International Financial Centre (led by James Laddie KC, Patrick Halliday and Ronnie Dennis).

Katherine’s practice encompasses all aspects of information and data protection, both civil and regulatory.

Katherine has extensive experience of data protection claims in the civil courts. This includes major data breach litigation, including group litigation and cybersecurity cases. As sole counsel, she is regularly instructed in data breach claims, and can offer strategic advice on handling such claims from an early stage.

She is currently acting for HMRC (led by Julian Milford KC and Rupert Paines) in high-profile data protection proceedings in the Media and Communications List. The claim is brought by a former US citizen challenging the bulk transfer of financial information to the US Internal Revenue Service pursuant to treaties between the UK and US governments.

Katherine is also regularly instructed by the Information Commissioner, public authorities, corporate entities and by individuals and other bodies in respect of regulatory appeals concerning the Freedom of Information Act and data protection legislation before the Information Rights tribunal.

Katherine acts for individuals, local and central government, and a range of other public authorities (including regulators) in all aspects of public law, both led and unled.

Her recent work in this area includes:

• Appearing for the successful local authority before the Supreme Court (led by Andrew Sharland KC) in the most recent leading case on the registration of town and village greens, TW Logistics v Essex County Council [2021] UKSC 4.
• Acting (led by Tom Cross) for Charlie Hughes, a child with severe epilepsy, in his challenges against NHS bodies and NICE, seeking access to medicinal cannabis.
• Appearing jointly for Salford City Council and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (led by Aileen McColgan KC) in JR proceedings against the provision of care support during hospital stays.