When Susannah Kintish joined Mishcon de Reya as a newly qualified lawyer, the employment team could fit into a “tiny room”. Today, she officially takes the lead of more than 70 lawyers spanning high-stakes litigation, global advisory work, and investigations.

Her elevation to practice head follows Daniel Naftalin’s appointment as managing partner of the firm earlier this month. In an exclusive interview with IEL, Kintish discusses her unconventional route to employment law, navigating politically sensitive disputes, and her plans for the London-headquartered firm’s powerhouse team.

Every government, the first thing they want to do is update employment law. But it doesn’t just change through statute and case law, but through the cultural zeitgeist of the momen

From pro bono to practice head

Kintish’s path to becoming an employment lawyer was anything but orthodox. She trained at Lovells but, despite being interested in the practice, never secured a rotation in its employment team. Undaunted, she joined a pro bono unit before applying to Mishcon de Reya as a newly qualified solicitor. The firm, she says, effectively “took a punt” on her.

What attracted her then – and still does – is the blend of disciplines the practice demands. “For me, it’s the intersection of law and people,” she says. “You get to look under the bonnet of so many different industries. It’s where business meets law, meets psychology.”

That dynamic, she adds, is what makes the work endlessly fresh – especially given that employment law rarely stands still. “Every government, the first thing they want to do is update employment law. But it doesn’t just change through statute and case law, but through the cultural zeitgeist of the moment”– from Me Too to Black Lives Matter – “impacts the way people view the law.”

Lawyers must therefore stay attuned not just to black letter and case law developments, but to the shifting social context. “It keeps it fresh. It keeps you on your toes. And, actually, it means clients always need you,” she says.

When Kintish joined Mishcon de Reya 17 years ago, the employment team comprised four partners and a handful of associates. Today, it numbers 16 partners and over 70 lawyers, plus an 11-strong global offering through MDR ONE – the firm’s international employment counselling business launched following the 2023 merger with Taylor Vinters.

But growth has not been limited to headcount. The team has expanded from a purely domestic UK practice into a sophisticated, international operation. Late last year, the firm opened new Dubai and Abu Dhabi hubs and recruited former DLA Piper partner Natalie Jones to build its new UAE employment practice, bolstering its cross-border capability that also includes Hong Kong and Singapore.

The client base has evolved, too. The practice now acts for major institutional clients across financial services, retail, insurance, real estate and asset management and other major sectors, while also retaining its strong foothold among start-ups through its Cambridge and Oxford hubs, and continuing to advise employees and senior management.

We’ve seen a huge growth in disputes, and we really want to continue to invest in that practice

“When I started, we were a pure domestic UK employment law house,” explains Kintish. “Now, the practice spans employer advisory, tribunal and High Court litigation, employee advisory work, investigations, M&A, and global mandates.”

A disputes engine and the power of scale

Having effectively run the core London practice alongside Naftalin for the past five years, Kintish’s plans for the practice is “evolution, not revolution”. A significant pillar of her strategy is the continued expansion of the High Court practice. “We’ve seen a huge growth in disputes, and we really want to continue to invest in that practice,” she says.

A disputes powerhouse, where more than half the firm’s lawyers are litigators, the employment team can draw on enormous internal resource for major cases, especially in high-value bonus disputes and big team moves where injunctions and restrictive covenant arguments take centre stage.

“When we’re doing a speedy trial, we can have 50 fee earners working on that,” Kintish explains. “Having that engine room behind us – the leadership and techniques of how to run big commercial disputes applied to our employment offerings – there aren’t many top employment teams that have that heft behind them.”

We’ve got a hugely ambitious group of people, and we need to grow to fulfil their ambitions

Independent investigations are another growth priority, with the team often being referred work from some of its biggest competitors when conflicts arise. “We’ve seen a huge uptick in our investigations practice. I love that work. It’s really interesting and a lovely counterbalance to our litigation and advisory work. It uses another part of your brain,” Kintish says. 

But as she takes up the role of practice head, Kintish is clear that her ambition is as much about people as the practice’s bottom line. “It’s really continuing to look after the team. If you’ve got the best people, then generally, the rest will take care of itself,” she says.

Kintish is determined to democratise the practice’s leadership by bringing more people into day-to-day management, which, she says, will greatly assist in the firm’s long-term succession planning. 

“We’ve got a hugely ambitious group of people, and we need to grow to fulfil their ambitions. I can’t make up partners year-on-year if we’re not growing. So, for me, the driver for growth is making sure everyone who has the potential to be a partner can realise that potential. I would like to give more people a taste of management so they can figure out whether it is something they like.”

A core value underpinning Kintish’s leadership style is “generosity of spirit” – something she credits to Naftalin’s long-term influence. 

“Daniel has always given me a lot of autonomy. He’s not a dictatorial-style leader, and I’ve learned a lot from him, both as a lawyer and as a leader,” she says. “Generosity of spirit is something Daniel embodies, and it’s a really good litmus test of whether you’re making the right decision. I’m always checking my decisions against that barometer. If you do that, you can’t go far wrong.”

Couldn’t be in better hands

Daniel Naftalin, managing partner-elect of Mishcon de Reya and the firm’s outgoing employment chair: “I am so pleased that Susannah has been elected as chair of our employment department. 

“She has worked closely with me over the last 17 years to help build the department from just a handful of employment lawyers to a thriving and growing team of more than 70 lawyers dedicated to serving our clients on all aspects of employment law. 

With her help, the department has flourished, becoming the top choice for the best lawyers and clients with complex legal issues, and it could not be in better hands.” 

Asked what young employment lawyers should focus on to develop their own practice, Kintish is direct: “The first thing is just being the best lawyer you can be and do as much as you can, as early as you can,” she says, stressing the importance of resisting comfort zones. 

“You don’t want to get to seven-years qualified and think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never done that before’. One of the reasons many associates join the Mishcon employment team is precisely this breadth of experience – they might be involved in an investigation one week and working on a team move the next, helping them develop into genuine all‑rounders.”

And beyond technical excellence? “Relationships are so important.That’s what will drive business, and that’s what AI will never replace.”

As Kintish notes, the rise of AI is reshaping her client’s talent strategy and law firm management alike. Some clients are moving away from hiring junior talent, but Kintish believes firmly in investing in junior talent as they are the partners of tomorrow.

Are you recruiting history students, English students, and law students, or are you recruiting STEM students who understand coding and how to manipulate AI?

While automation may change the nature of some junior roles, Kintish rejects the idea it will eliminate them. The premium, she predicts, will increasingly rest on relationships and sector expertise and market insight.

“The type of talent that people are recruiting is changing. Are you recruiting history students, English students, and law students, or are you recruiting STEM students who understand coding and how to manipulate AI? There’s going to be an intensification on certain areas,” she says.

“People who’ve got relationships, who can bring to bear knowledge of sectors – we’re going to see the war for talent intensify for those people.”

Making law – and headlines

Kintish has been at the centre of some of the most consequential employment disputes of the past decade. Foremost among them is the long-running Pimlico Plumbers litigation – a case she began as a second-year associate and finished as a partner in the UK Supreme Court.

The landmark dispute travelled to the apex court on the question of worker status, returned to the lower tribunal, and then went back up to the Court of Appeal on the question of holiday pay entitlement. “To make law in two areas on one piece of litigation is pretty good,” Kintish says, even if the case didn’t ultimately go her client’s way. 

“Lots of lawyers don’t get to go to the Supreme Court once. I nearly went twice on the same case, which was a real privilege.” 

Another defining chapter in Kintish’s career was acting pro bono for the Jewish Labour Movement in an investigation into anti-Semitism claims within the UK Labour Party. Her team’s landmark strategy involved referring the matter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and assisting the watchdog throughout its inquiry, which ultimately led to the ousting of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“Helping the whistleblowers was pretty monumental and watching that play out on the political stage was one of those moments where I thought, this is why I’m at Mishcon,” she says. “The firm has got a reputation of taking a stand and acting in relation to the big political issues of the day.”

Indeed, politics in the workplace is one of the most fraught modern challenges facing businesses worldwide, Kintish says, especially when employers try to manage competing protected characteristics among workers.

It’s the area that clients are most terrified about because they can feel hamstrung

“When you’ve got two competing sets of protected characteristics, fervently held beliefs, amplified by social media, it is such a difficult tightrope for employers to navigate,” she says. 

Though these situations may not be the most common queries facing HR teams and general counsels, they are often the most complex – and the most anxiety-inducing.

“It’s the area that clients are most terrified about because they can feel hamstrung – ‘I know that I need to do something, but I just don’t know what to do’,” says Kintish, adding that the complexity only rises for multinationals operating across multiple jurisdictions, where cultural and legal norms diverge.

“It’s an area where we have seen an uptick in investigations because when people realise how difficult it is, they want an independent assessment of the situation.”

New rights and a system under strain

For international employers, upcoming UK employment reforms loom large – specifically  the Labour government’s decision to ditch the unfair dismissal award cap. But for Kintish, the more urgent concern lies with an already creaking employment tribunal system tasked with enforcing the latest raft of changes.

“The delays in our tribunal system at the moment already make justice difficult to achieve ,” Kintish says, noting that some claims are taking years to come to trial, even before the predicted deluge of extra disputes expected from the new workplace rights. 

“The government most likely thought we would end up with more legally straightforward claims being dealt with more quickly and the number of discrimination or whistleblowing claims would diminish. 

“But they haven’t necessarily considered the time that will be taken dealing with remedy where remuneration and pension arrangements are complex.”

Even less discussed are reforms around union recognition and collective activity. “The ease now with which unions are going to be recognised represents quite a shift,” Kintish warns, noting that many UK employers lack recent experience of collective bargaining structures prevalent elsewhere in Europe. “Employers need to get ahead of [the reforms] and think about what they can do in terms of heading off the risks that they pose to their business.”

Beyond the billable hour

Outside the firm, Kintish sits on the board of Cosmetic Executive Women, an organisation that promotes the British beauty industry. There she deepens her ties with clients who form a network of stakeholders spanning major brands, entrepreneurs, retailers, financiers, media, and influencers. 

But she also serves as a trustee of Work Avenue, a small charity supporting people back into employment. The model focuses on confidence-building, practical training, and creating a supportive ecosystem for job hunting – a contrast, she suggests, to overstretched public job centres.

“We help people find work with dignity,” she says. “We have mothers who haven’t worked for 20 years. It’s figuring out how we make their experience relevant today. Where are their skills? How can we help to apply them? So, we help with CV writing skills and interview practice.

“But we also have people who want to maybe start their own business. We’ll train them in, for example, bookkeeping or social media so that they can upskill. What’s so amazing is that we now have those new businesses employing people who we are helping look for jobs. It’s becoming this lovely ecosystem.”

Work Avenue’s service is even more important given the acute mental health crisis facing Britain’s workforce.

“People are being signed off sick for huge amounts of time. I see it play out in my everyday practice, but in my work as a trustee, I see anxiety, depression keep people out of work, and it’s causing certain areas of the economy to stagnate,” Kintish says.

“Just providing an environment where jobseekers don’t feel immediately despondent and depressed about their future – where they can sit at a desk and have a coffee with someone and talk about their strengths and get some practical help without feeling a sense of hopelessness – is so important.”

With a lawyer whose career has been defined by both landmark litigation, collaborative leadership, and a desire to make a difference, the next chapter of Mishcon de Reya’s employment practice looks set to be a bright one.