Serious work, without the show
At Watershed, we practise employment law at its sharpest edge. Our focus is strategic, high-stakes advisory work for major employers, without the churn of low-value claims or litigation for litigation’s sake.
We act almost exclusively for respondents, many of whom arrive through our close integration with management consultancy Collinson Grant.
This gives our lawyers direct access to boardrooms and Human Resources (HR) leadership teams throughout the UK, and a steady stream of work that is commercially vital, reputationally sensitive, and legally complex.
It is employment law that matters, not just in law, but in business.
The breadth behind the specialism
Watershed’s solicitors work on a wide spectrum of contentious and non-contentious matters. The following case types are typical, but not exceptional.
Corporate investigations
We lead internal investigations involving serious allegations, often with board-level visibility.
For example: advising a multinational business on a sexual harassment complaint involving a senior executive, managing a discreet internal process, and ensuring regulatory compliance under tight timelines.
Senior executive advisory
Our lawyers handle appointments, exits, and everything in between for some of the UK’s most senior leaders.
For example: guiding a listed client through the negotiated departure of a divisional Chief Executive Officer, balancing contractual, reputational, and political sensitivities.
Organisational change
We regularly advise on complex restructurings and collective consultation matters, from business sales to large-scale redundancies.
For example: supporting a care group with a 200+ person redundancy programme, including TUPE transfers, union engagement, and risk mitigation.
Dispute resolution
While not all Watershed lawyers undertake advocacy, those who choose to do so handle serious, multi-day hearings, not routine claims.
For example: representing a global retail brand in a high-value whistleblowing employment tribunal claim, acting from initial strategy through to the final day of the hearing.
Sector variety, strategic depth
Our clients span a diverse range of sectors: financial services, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing and retail, often with international footprints and complex governance environments.
The work is not siloed. A lawyer who advises on a redundancy one week might be working on an executive misconduct case the next. This variety is deliberate: it keeps our thinking sharp and our practice dynamic.
And because much of our work arises from Collinson Grant’s broader advisory mandates, we often join the conversation earlier, at the moment when strategic decisions are being shaped, not simply executed.
No routine. No ceiling.
There is no ‘typical day’ at Watershed. But if you enjoy depth over volume, nuance over repetition, and working directly with senior decision-makers, you will feel at home here.
Want to know more about what it is like to work this way? See Life at Watershed.
