Hilary Winstone

Hilary specialises in a number of areas of law, most of which are complementary to each other, despite their differing jurisdictions. These include: all aspects of employment law (including discrimination), personal injury including public liability and road traffic accidents and product liability.

Hilary was involved in the design and development of a website project on the workings of the National Minimum Wage Act and Regulations. She also took part in the ACAS/Capital Law training video for prospective participants in Employment Tribunals (available on the ACAS website). She took her newly found addiction to television cameras to HTV, where she has since appeared on a number of occasions as a commentator on employment matters.

Hilary regularly writes and lectures in all areas relevant to her practice. She enjoys working alongside solicitors in joint education, training and marketing projects aimed at sustaining and improving the client relationship.

Hilary achieved a first class degree at the University of Wales, winning prizes along the way for the best 2nd year student and the Sweet & Maxwell prize for best criminal student - someone had to win it - and went on to talk her way into a 'Very Competent' on the BVC. She was a Sir Thomas More scholar at Lincoln's Inn.

Although Hilary is not a mediator, she has attended advanced mediation courses purely for experience and professional development purposes. She has benefited hugely from her training and has acted for a number of clients, in particular local authority clients, in complex mediation situations which have ultimately been successful. At this time, she has no plans to obtain professional accreditation, preferring to remain at the forefront of the fight on her client's behalf, rather than in the middle.

Memberships

• Justice, Human Rights Lawyers Association
• Employment Lawyers Association
• Employment Lawyers Bar Association
• Personal Injury Bar Association
• Health & Safety Lawyers Association
• Western Circuit
• European Employment Lawyers Association.

Hilary specialises in cases involving sex, race and disability discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy, the various regulations, including the National Minimum Wage, Working-Time and Part-Time Workers Regulations and TUPE. She has extensive experience in employment related matters within the local authority structure, dealing with both internal policies and mediation. Hilary has advised a broad spectrum of companies on their ongoing employment policies and been involved in equal opportunities training and education. Hilary is known as a very 'hands on' lawyer who likes to work as part of a team, with her solicitor from the earliest possible stage, and as a part of the ongoing service provision.

Hilary has undertaken a number of emergency injunctions (including drafting the relevant documents) on behalf of clients to enforce or defend breaches of restrictive covenants or non-solicitation clauses.

Some Notable Appeal Cases:

• St. Christopher's Fellowship v. Barbara Walters-Ennis [2010] Eq LR 82
• London Borough of Sutton v. Kester, March 2007, an appeal where she successfully argued that the tribunal had substituted its own decision for that of the employer.
• Meadowstone Ltd v. Kirk & Hill. EAT February 2006, Hilary successfully represented the Claimants, two Directors of the Company, who were declared wrongfully and unfairly dismissed in a robust tribunal decision in Nottingham. The Company appealed to the EAT and Hilary (accompanied by Rohan Pirani) successfully defended. The Company threatened to go to the Court of Appeal, where Hilary was instructed on a joint basis by both Respondents, but the case eventually settled.
• Craddock v. Cornwall County Council & Others, December 2005, an indirect discrimination/part time workers regulations claim brought by a teacher returning from maternity leave who was refused part time working. The majority of the Truro tribunal rejected the claim (against vociferous minority support for the Claimant) but the case was won on appeal in the EAT.
• Stoneygate 140 Limited v. Hammond & Essentials Ltd - restrictive covenant, hairdressing dispute involving an initial injunction.

• Employment Lawyers Association
• Employment Law Bar Association
• European Employment Lawyers Association
• Industrial Law Society

Hilary is instructed in EL and PL claims mainly on behalf of defendants. She has extensive experience in Industrial injury claims, with a particular interest in NIHL. Hilary has successfully ran arguments on the ‘de minimus’ theory and the factual evidence of noise at work. Hilary was also successful in defending a claim for unilateral hearing loss said to result from uni-directional noise pollution.

Hilary was appointed as Counsel by over 100 Defendants to manage multiple claims of NIHL, known as the ‘Isaac Abrahams’ cases, in which there were difficulties with dates of service and medical reports. She was successful in defending the claims, with the majority dismissed. The claims continued over the course of a year, and was vigorously contested by the Claimant’s solicitor, Hilary appeared against a Silk at the final hearing,obtaining wasted costs orders against the partners personally. Hilary’s attention to detail assisted in highlighting the gaps in evidence provided by Claimants who had attempting to gain financially from claims that are either exaggerated or fraudulent.

 Memberships

• Personal Injury Bar Association.

Hilary specialises in product liability, regularly representing Defendants in the Magistrates' Court for breach of Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, as well as advising, drafting defences and representing clients in civil actions. She has also lectured in legal developments.

Notable Cases:

• PMS International Group plc v. North East Lincolnshire Council & Ors, a High Court appeal by way of case stated on the interpretation of 'toy' in the Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995 and Directive 88/378/EEC
• John Walter Hammond (Derbyshire TSD) and Douwe Egberts Ltd & Sainsburys Ltd: whether a package design could have mislead a customer to believe that ready-mix cappuccino could in fact be pure ground coffee (representing the Defendants, we got costs)
• Theresa Dryer v. Paramount Hotel Group and others: represented the third Defendant, the first importer, in a case involving a broken restaurant chair.

Membership

• Product Liability Lawyers' Association

Hilary conducts disciplinary, grievance and whistleblowing investigations across a number of sectors, including higher education, NHS and the manufacturing industry, including two investigations at a senior level done at arms-length for a US subsidiary of a UK parent, involving the navigation of Californian employment law.

Hilary represents interested parties in inquests into deaths before Her Majesty's Coroner and at pre-inquest briefing hearings. She has experience of both straight forward inquests into, for example, road traffic deaths, as well as more complex cases, such as those involving medical negligence.

Hilary's background in journalism and ongoing involvement with the music industry places her in a unique position of understanding and empathy with regard to both of those professions and industries. She has handled a number of claims involving breach of contract and various disputes in those areas.

Examples:

• Rankhour v. Besiksi - claim launched with an injunction to prevent copyright theft, theft of computer records and Misuse of Database Regulations breaches;
• Baxter v. Vincent - letters revealing personal details of 'Carry on' characters published in a Scottish Newspaper;
• Victory Tulip v. Ragdoll Productions (UK) Limited - contractual dispute between the creator of Rosie and Jim and 'Brum' and the Production Company;
• Fleet St Flair Ltd v. Easyjet - Dispute over in-house magazine.
• Davies v. Riff Raff Records & Riff Raff Music - Dispute over ownership of masters.
• Britton v. Gruber Productions Limited - dispute between the writer and producers of a film project.