Russell
Rochford
Partner
Russell is a partner in the Employment, Pensions and Benefits Group with over 20 years’ experience advising a wide range of public and private sector corporate and institutional clients in the UK and Ireland across the spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment, industrial relations, equality and immigration law.
Areas of Expertise
Russell has a particular expertise in advising clients on the complex workforce challenges that arise from their commercial activities, having been the employment lead on some of the largest reorganisations, outsourcings and commercial transactions across the private and public sector in Ireland and the UK in recent years. This has included major National Health Service reorganisations in the UK and large M&A transactions in Ireland covering, amongst other things, staff transfers (TUPE in particular), due diligence, individual and collective redundancies and the consequent litigation that can arise in such projects.
Russell provides strategic and operational advice to clients to successfully resolve sensitive, contentious matters before they degenerate into disputes or claims. He also has extensive experience in managing sensitive and complex employment disputes and litigation, including whistleblowing processes and High Court injunction proceedings. As evidenced by the main Legal Directory accolades, Russell is regularly lauded by both clients and peers alike for his personable and commercially practicable approach in dealing with such matters.
Russell‘s breadth of experience and expertise in UK employment matters means that he frequently works with clients and potential clients operating in and from the UK to advise them on the practical differences and nuances between the UK and Irish labour markets and employment law systems.
Russell is an active member of the UK Employment Lawyers Association, the European Employment Lawyers Association, the Employment Lawyers Association of Ireland and the American Bar Association. He is also a non-practising member of the Law Society of England and Wales.
As well as delivering regular presentations, seminars and training to colleagues and clients, Russell has delivered bespoke training to members of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Brussels European Employee Relations Group and the Institute of Directors in Ireland on managing employment law risk and defending employment claims. He also regularly contributes to Matheson’s Employment Law Podcast and presents at employment conferences organised by the American Bar Association in the US and the CIPD and White Company here in Ireland.
Experience and Education
- Advised the joint liquidators of a multi-national department store chain in successfully defending two separate class actions through the employment rights system up to the High Court. This involved the largest class action to come before the Workplace Relations Commission and ultimately a seminal decision of the High Court.
- Advised a global banking and financial services corporation in relation to numerous claims (including injunctions) before the Workplace Relations Commission and High Court and mediations.
- Advised on the employment aspects of intra-NHS mergers and acquisitions in the UK and major M&A transactions in Ireland including:
- The Smurfit Kappa Group plc on its $25.5 billion merger with WestRock and the listing of Smurfit WestRock’s stock on the NYSE and LSE;
- NYSE listed Aon plc on its $13.4 billion acquisition of NFP;
- An international banking group on a cross-border merger between its Irish subsidiary and the Italian listed parent including the implementation of a simultaneous transfer of the Irish employees under TUPE and a collective redundancy;
- A multi-national food products corporation on the transfer of hundreds of employees under TUPE between group entities, the implementation of a simultaneous collective redundancy affecting certain of the employees and a harmonisation programme post-transfer;
- One of the largest integrated social enterprise providers of health and social care in the UK in relation to the transfer under TUPE of thousands of staff into the social enterprise from different areas of the public sector and ongoing employment matters; and
- the most significant and high-profile Brexit-related transitions Matheson dealt with for insurance, banking and investment management clients including the transfer of staff under TUPE, the Cross Border Merger Regulations and cross-border secondments.
- Advised numerous regulated clients, in conjunction with regulatory and data protection colleagues, in relation to the implementation of investigations, grievance and disciplinary processes, whistleblowing process and terminations with regulated employees.
- Advised a technology company on a complex and protracted dispute with an employee in the context of a significant cyber-attack on the client’s global business, involving employee relations processes, a protected disclosure under the whistleblowing legislation and defamation proceedings in the High Court which were all ultimately resolved through mediation.
- Partnered with numerous clients to assist them in preparing and issuing statutory reports under the gender pay gap legislation.
- Advised hundreds of employees in relation to three separate collective redundancy programmes implemented by a technology company.
- Advised numerous ‘start up’ companies in relation to obtaining employment permits for non-EEA / Swiss nationals at every level.
- Advised numerous public and private organisations in relation to the employment and pensions aspects of procurement processes.
- University College Dublin (Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies)
- Qualified as a solicitor in Ireland
- University College Dublin (Diploma in Employment Law)
- Law Society of Ireland (Diploma in Commercial Litigation)
- Qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales
