Kirsty is a senior employment lawyer with almost a decade of experience advising large multinational clients on complex employment law issues. Kirsty has particular expertise in advising clients in the financial services and technology sectors on high-value employment law disputes, international restructuring projects, and board level issues. Kirsty was previously in-house as Senior Counsel (Vice President) of an international hedge fund and prior to that, the lead associate for all significant UK employment matters at a US law firm.

Kirsty was recognised as a Future Employment Law Leader by the International Employment Lawyer in 2023, an Associate to Watch by Chambers & Partners in 2022/2023, and a Key Lawyer by Legal 500 in 2022 and 2023.

Featured experience:

• Acting for Verition in defence of a significant high-profile claim in the High Court and Court of Appeal relating to a competitor’s non-compete restriction (Jump Trading International Ltd v Couture; Verition Advisors (UK Partners) LLP v Jump Trading International Ltd) 
• Acting for AIG in the Court of Appeal in defence of a claim that deferred compensation accounts of bankers in London were improperly reduced by massive losses sustained in connection with the 2008 financial crisis (AIG Financial Products Corp v Gruber and others) 
• Advising on employment aspects of numerous high value corporate acquisitions and post-acquisition restructurings, including representing a well-known financial services company in its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of a leading global provider of climate and natural disaster risk modelling and analytics.
• Being the primary point of contact for a well-known global travel e-commerce company in respect of their domestic and international employment law matters, including defending a claim for direct age and sex discrimination in the Employment Tribunal, negotiating senior exits and advising on the enforceability of restrictive covenants.

Endorsements:

• Chambers 2022: “She is responsive, she has the ability to understand the internal dynamics and needs of the company, and she provides strategic and practical advice.”; “She is a great lawyer with a strong eye for detail. She is quick, concise and she gets to the nub of the matter. She is also very personable and approachable.”; “Clients regard Kirsty Devine as an impressive associate able to handle a range of employment mandates.” 
• The Legal 500 Rankings (Employers): “Kirsty is thoughtful in her approach and in general anticipates and prepares us for any pushback an adversary might contemplate. This approach has allowed us to resolve matters involving third parties efficiently and quickly.”