Katherine Eddy
Professional Summary
Called 2009
Contact Details
E Katherine.Eddy@11kbw.com T +44 (0)20 7632 8500 Clerk Lee Cutler Clerk Tori Eastwick E Contact Clerks
Katherine practises in employment, public and education law, and is ranked in the legal directories as a leading junior in each of these fields. In Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 she has been described as “a phenomenal advocate”; “a class act”; “a brilliant mind”; “a clear thinker”; “an acute analyst”; and “incisive, confident, and intellectually and tactically sound”.
Katherine came to the UK from Canada on a Commonwealth Scholarship. She has a doctorate in political philosophy from Balliol College, Oxford, and worked as a British Academy Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice in Oxford before joining Chambers.
Specialisms
Employment
Katherine has extensive advocacy experience acting for both claimants and respondents in complex, multi-day discrimination and whistleblowing claims. She has acted for and against large financial institutions, local authorities, government departments, retailers and small charities.
Education
Katherine has a busy education law practice. Her clients in the education field include universities, local authorities, government departments, independent schools, students and parents.
She appears regularly in the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal, and advises on the full range of education law matters. She has particular experience in matters relating to academies.
Public
Katherine advises on human rights, local government powers and duties, and has particular experience in the overlap between education and public law.
Recommendations
Chambers & Partners and Legal 500:
“Katherine has almost too many strengths to list them all: exceptionally thorough in her preparation, with an awe-inspiring attention to detail; laser-focused, tenacious and agile in the hearing itself, and able to respond with speed and precision to unexpected points; supremely sharp and effective in cross-examination; and excellent with clients.”
“She’s extremely responsive, bright and practical – a superstar junior.”
“Katherine is extremely intelligent, forensic and strategically-minded. She consistently provides valuable insights. Her advocacy style combines robust delivery with a professional demeanour.”
“She is an excellent lawyer, her management of cases is superb, she has a calm demeanour, she is commercial in her outlook, she cuts through the case and she is extremely clear and incisive.”
“A very intelligent and strong advocate.”
“Katherine is an absolutely brilliant barrister to instruct. She is attentive, produces commercial and user-friendly advice and is first class with clients.”
“A real joy to instruct and is extremely knowledgeable in the areas and crossover between employment and education law.”
“A real barrister to watch.”
“Great attention to detail and a very quick and thorough approach to instructions.”
“She’s clear, straightforward and practical – she’s very popular with clients.”
“Not a single weakness to be found”
“A class act; a brilliant mind, a clear thinker and very accommodating”
“She is incisive, confident, and intellectually and tactically sound”
“She puts the client at ease and inspires confidence in everything she does”
“An excellent junior”
“A phenomenal advocate who is very assured and instils confidence” “An acute analyst with a really sure grasp of public law principles”
“Very sensible and commercial, she always displays good judgment”
“She is very good on the law and has a clear and direct advocacy style which is very persuasive”
Recent Cases
Employment
A v X (a management consultancy firm) (July 2022)
Acted for a management consultancy firm in its defence of its “up or elsewhere” performance model against claims of disability and race discrimination
A v B (a bank) (May 2022)
Acted for a bank in defending claims brought in the Employment Tribunal by a former employee who had been dismissed for fraud
A v Y (a school) (April 2022)
Acted for a school for children with special educational needs in a multi-week claim in the Employment Tribunal, defending claims of constructive unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and whistleblowing detriment brought by a teacher
East of England Ambulance Service v Flowers (2021)
Acting for the Claimants in an appeal to the Supreme Court about whether voluntary overtime should be included in the calculation of holiday pay
Gemini Europe Ltd v Sawyer [2020] EWHC 3377 (QB)
Interim injunction application concerning the breach of a non-compete clause
Essex County Council v Jarrett [2015] 5 WLUK 13, EAT
Appeal to the EAT against a refusal to order specific disclosure
Somerset County Council v Chambers [2013] 4 WLUK 616, EAT
Appeal to the EAT about the scope of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to determine unlawful deduction from wages complaints in respect of employer’s pension contributions
Croft Vets Ltd v Butcher [2013] EqLR 1170
Appeal to the EAT about whether or not the payment of private medical treatment could constitute a reasonable adjustment
CVS Solicitors LLP v Van der Borgh [2013] Eq LR 934
Appeal to the EAT about the employee status of a consultant solicitor
Public
R (Kays) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (CA – ongoing)
Challenge to the regime governing disabled students’ access to universal credit
R (Good Law Project) v SS for Education and others [2022] EWHC 1158 (Admin)
Challenge concerning whether local authorities were taking sufficient steps to secure accommodation in their areas for looked after children
R (on the application of Turner) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] EWHC 465 (Admin); [2021] PTSR 1312
Challenge to the Secretary of State’s policy on employment support allowance
Totel Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2018] UKSC 44; [2018] 1 WLR 4053
Appeal to the Supreme Court about the EU law principle of equivalence
R (A) v Secretary of State for Health [2017] UKSC 41; [2017] 1 WLR 2492
Appeal to the Supreme Court about the lawfulness of the decision not to provide abortion services free of charge on the NHS to women from Northern Ireland
Humphreys v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2012] UKSC 18; [2012] 1 WLR 1545
Appeal to the Supreme Court about the system of single payment of child tax credit and whether it was indirectly discriminatory against men
Education
R (on the application of Driver) v Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC [2020] EWCA Civ 1759; [2021] ELR 193
Challenge to a schools reorganisation decision; the appeal to the Court of Appeal concerned the interpretation of dual language (Welsh and English) legislation
Proprietor of Homeschool v Secretary of State for Education [2020] UKFTT 0300 (HESC)
Appeal to the FTT about compliance with the independent school standards
JW v Sinai Jewish Primary School Governing Body [2019] UKUT 88 (AAC)
Appeal to the Upper Tribunal about the extent to which a school’s financial resources were relevant to a decision on a disability discrimination claim
Duncombe v Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families [2011] UKSC 14, 36; [2011] ICR 1312, 495
Appeal to the Supreme Court about the territorial scope of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and less favourable treatment of fixed-term employees
Education
Katherine graduated with a first-class degree in politics from Queen’s University, Canada. She has an MPhil from King’s College, Cambridge, and a DPhil from Balliol College, Oxford.
