James specialises in providing straightforward advice to businesses and individuals across the UK on a variety of employment law issues.
For employers, James provides support with employment contracts and staff handbooks, immigration and right-to-work queries, day-to-day HR advice and assistance on tricky issues, as well as representation in defending Employment Tribunal proceedings. He also assists Leathes Prior’s Corporate and Commercial Team by advising on the employment law aspects of its company sales and purchase transactions.
James also regularly undertakes secondments at one of Leathes Prior’s large multinational clients. During these secondments, he acts as the in-house employment legal counsel and works closely with the Legal Director and Head of HR. He is responsible for an extensive number of Employment Tribunal claims while also managing internal day-to-day employment law issues.
James also provides advice and assistance to individuals, including in relation to settlement agreements, grievances, and disciplinary/dismissal situations, and in relation to pursuing Employment Tribunal claims. He also assists employees in his capacity as a volunteer for the Norfolk Community Law Society.
James graduated from Southampton University in 2014, before going on to achieve a distinction in the Legal Practice Course at BPP London. James joined Leathes Prior from a local firm and comes with 7 years of highly recommended experience. During this time he has been conducting advocacy on behalf of clients in Employment Tribunals throughout England, as well as bringing and defending actions in both the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
- Undertook a three-month secondment at an international facilities management business with around 60,000 UK staff – continuing to regularly provide advocacy for them at tribunals around the country.
- Providing employment advice to football clubs and motorsport teams on a variety of commercial matters.
- Assisted Dan Chapman with the move of Kieran McKenna and Martyn Pert to Ipswich Town FC.
- Providing employment related assistance to the Corporate & Commercial Team during the sale of the Greensleeves Group.
- Providing employment related assistance to the Corporate & Commercial Team during the sale of Tiger Eye Consulting Limited to CTS Group.
- Negotiating a 6-figure settlement sum for a Director at an international wealth management firm.
- Negotiating a settlement worth over half a million pounds for a senior Director at a Premier League football club.
James is a real asset to your organisation and demonstrated real professionalism throughout the entire process. I can't sing his praises highly enough; he was a real pleasure to work with from start to finish and one thing that really stood out was his attention to detail and confidence in his advice.
Understanding, empathetic and, most importantly, honest! I had an initial consultation for employment advice with James Conley and it far exceeded my expectations, outlining all my options in a non-patronising manner and taking the additional time to answer all my questions clearly. Would highly recommend to anyone, especially if feeling especially anxious about seeking support for the first time!
Thank you for all your support right from the beginning, the whole team were fantastic, responsive, and always available. You’ve been a great support and I am very grateful for your sensitivity, support, and professionalism. Hopefully, I won’t need a solicitor again any time soon but you’ll always be highly recommended by us!
I highly recommend James Conley, he was professional and supportive throughout a really stressful time in my life. I couldn’t have asked for more. He was attentive and personable, and I would not hesitate to use or recommend Leathes Prior again if I had a legal issue. Thank you for representing me in my employment claim!
I wanted to say how brilliant it was to have James on secondment with us over the last 3 months. James joined us at a particularly frantic time but he coped so well with everything thrown in his direction and made a huge difference during his time here. It was a real pleasure for myself and my team to work with him – you have an excellent lawyer and brilliant ambassador for LP in James.