Partner, Employment Law Specialist
Mark’s key role is to oversee the provision of quality legal services to all clients of the Employment Law Department. He acts for a wide range of businesses and also senior executives. A quality service is achieved by maintaining a close liaison with clients and other colleagues within the department, focusing on detail and strategy, to achieve a pragmatic and satisfying solution.
Mark Higgins Career Profile
In a previous life, Mark was a linguist, specialising in French and Russian language and linguistics. He gained a first class honours degree before pursuing postgraduate study and research at Hertford College, Oxford. Previously he has lived and worked in France, both as a translator for the oil company Elf Aquitaine and as a university tutor, and also in Minsk (Belarus) at the time of the fall of the USSR.
Since the dim and distant days of qualification as a solicitor, Mark has advised numerous business owners and managers on employment ranging from employment disputes and removal of employee directors through to TUPE related mergers/acquisitions and disposals, and effective staff management.
Recent developments in discrimination laws have meant that Mark is increasingly asked to advise on partnership disputes. Where rules on conflict of interest allow, we advise directors and senior executives with regard to their individual employment rights, including unfair dismissal and breach of contract, discrimination and harassment, equal pay and unlawful deductions from wages as well as negotiation of settlement agreements (compromise agreements) and severance packages.
