Introduction
Described by independent legal commentators as “amongst the top juniors in his field”, Ed Beever is a specialist employment practitioner with substantial insolvency and commercial litigation experience. “Exceptional” in court, Ed is “astute and commercially savvy in equal measure”, recommended and listed as a National Leader in the top Tiers and Bands by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal respectively. Ed regularly achieves impressive results for his clients in the High Court, Business and Property Courts, Employment Tribunals as well as in the Appeal Courts.
Ed deals with the full range of employment disputes and issues, with a particular focus on high value and complex litigation. With complementary commercial and insolvency specialisms, Ed has the rare ability to cover all the angles. Clients rely on Ed to cover the most complex, integrated issues when it comes to employment disputes, including claims for senior executives, cases involving directors’ duties and seeking injunctive relief. With recognised expertise in high value, high stakes litigation in the High Court, Ed is the obvious choice for solicitors engaged in serious contractual and restraint of trade disputes.
Clients report that Ed is both ‘highly approachable’ and ‘an effective communicator’. His client base sits at the highest echelons of UK business, with Ed regularly acting for listed plcs, national and regional firms, international companies, major public sector bodies (including the MOD and the Home Office) and a range of well-known SMEs. He is a member of the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel, an accredited advocacy trainer, and serves as a Fee Paid Employment Judge.
Relevant Experience
With a 70% Respondent profile, Ed continues to be highly regarded in his Claimant work, including senior employees and collective claims. A skilled veteran of numerous reported cases, Ed’s experience is varied, gained in cases of the highest value, complexity and importance.
A sample of Ed’s relevant and leading experience in some of those reported cases includes:
- Hyperama v Poulis [2019] EWHC, Yip J – commercial fraud allegations – search orders – rights of inspection.
- The Wealth Group v Neale and Others [2016] EWHC – breach of directors’ duties – restrictive covenant litigation.
- Canavan v Birmingham City Council [2015] UKEAT/0187/13 – whistleblowing – trades union activities – application of time limits.
- Templeton Insurance v Brunswick and others [2012] EWHC 3319 – fiduciary duty – directors’ liabilities – breach of trust – knowing receipt – bankruptcy- fraud – costs.
- Millwood v Birmingham City Council [2012] EqLR – discrimination – burden of proof – effect of inadequate explanations.
- Re Infinity Lifestyles Ltd: [2009] BPIR 290: s.8 of CDDA – directors of a company engaged in money circulation schemes.
- A F Blakemore & Son Ltd (2) Trustees of the A F Blakemore & Son Ltd Staff Retirement Scheme v (1) N D Machin (2) J H[2007] EWHC 963 (Ch) – compromise agreements – findings of fact – oral contracts – pension benefits – pensions ombudsman – effect of compromise with employer on former employees’ right to complain about pension administration.
- Wightman v Bennett [2005] BPIR 470 – directors’ duties – high value property development – misfeasance.
Ed regularly deals with complex issues at the most complex interface of employment, commercial and insolvency arrangements. A snapshot of those issues includes dealing with:
- Senior employee breach of duties, fiduciary and restrictive covenants, in varied industry sectors including: online casino; insurance broking; accountancy and wealth management; veterinary profession; education.
- Appeals to the EAT in respect of discrimination (relevance of inadequate explanations), age discrimination (strike out/costs), interim relief and complex whistleblowing claims.
- Freezing Injunctions and commercial pre-emptive remedies.
- Substantial TUPE and insolvency issues.
- Financial derivatives, in the context of directors’ negligence and constructive dismissal employment tribunal proceedings.
- Age and disability discrimination concerning senior employees of listed companies.
- Whistleblowing, race discrimination, including in the local authority environment.
- Multi-party redundancy in teaching profession, including from a trade union perspective.
- High profile claims defence, including philosophical belief claim brought by a politician.
- Commercial disputes relating to senior and board level employees and directors; ranging from well-known national companies to SMEs and in both the public and private sectors.
- Contentious high court proceedings, including breach of fiduciary duty claims, emergency injunction / relief work, interim and final hearings.
- Complex advisory work, including on the legality of restraint of trade clauses.
- International commercial disputes, including a £2m dispute as to the quality of a monorail system constructed in Malaysia.
- Constructive trusts and tracing remedies in substantial breach of fiduciary litigation in the Business and Property Courts.
Working with Ed
Ed understands in complex and high stakes litigation that informal and frank discussions can cut through the issues and often lead to the most effective results. Ed is praised for having “superb attention to detail” and for being “an excellent advocate”.
Whether by Zoom conference, over the phone or in person, Ed’s approachable and down to earth style means that he provides an excellent service for his clients, breaking down even the most complex issues into digestible points.
Ed regularly gives seminars and informal sessions, with particular emphasis on commercial / employment issues, such as restraint of trade, TUPE, insolvency, fiduciary / directors’ duties and performance management. Ed is also renowned for arming his solicitor clients with the practical tools and strategies needed to preparing for and defending injunction claims. If you would like to discuss opportunities for witness handling sessions or other valuable training events then feel free to get in touch.
Education
Merton College, Oxford, BA (Hons), Jurisprudence
Appointments and Memberships
Member of Attorney General Panel of Counsel
Fee Paid Employment Judge, 2013
Employment Lawyers Association
Midlands Commercial and Chancery Bar Association
Testimonials
“Edmund is calm under pressure and is excellent in front of clients.” Chambers & Partners 2025
“We love him!” Chambers & Partners 2025
“Edmund is brilliant.” Chambers & Partners 2025
“Ed is a first port of call: his technical ability and knowledge of the law is impressive, he is a real team-player, and from a client perspective it is a real bonus that Ed is so approachable and explains the law clearly in a way clients can understand. He is also able to provide practical advice and help clients make good commercial decisions.” Legal 500 2025
“Edmund has a keen eye for detail. As well as being technically excellent, he has a superb manner with clients and is able to put them at ease and communicate effectively. In court, Edmund is a strong advocate who delivers his submissions concisely and with impact.” Legal 500 2025
“Edmund is a very assured, experienced and well-respected advocate. He has a wonderfully calm and reassuring demeanour with an incredibly analytical mind.” Legal 500 2024
“Edmund’s all round knowledge of employment law is second to none. He is an excellent advocate, who takes a pragmatic and commercial approach, and has a wonderful way of making clients feel reassured and confident in their position.” Chambers & Partners 2024
“He is approachable to clients and solicitors alike and is very helpful to instructing solicitors who are able to bounce ideas off him. He is extremely proactive and committed to his clients and cases. Clients really like having him on their team.” Chambers & Partners 2024
“Edmund is an incredible and tenacious advocate, highly effective, with an admirable success rate. He has the ability to converse with commercial clients and individuals at every level.” Legal 500 2023
“He is an excellent barrister.” Chambers & Partners 2023
“Edmund produces high-quality work.” Chambers & Partners 2023
“Clients love him; he’s very experienced and delightful to work with.” Chambers UK 2022
“He’s very user-friendly and down to earth, and clients like him. Extremely analytical and practical.” Chambers UK 2022
“He is committed and incisive, with an ability to explain legal issues to clients in an incredibly practical and user-friendly way. He gets to the heart of a problem, but he is always aware of the personal knowledge that solicitors have of the clients and the evidence, and is inclusive and a great team player.” Chambers UK 2022
“Edmund combines an accessible user friendly approach with an insightful knowledge of the law .” Legal 500 2022
Ranked Tier 1 for Employment by Legal 500
Ranked as leading a Band 1 team for Employment by Chambers UK
Recommended as a National Leader in the ‘UK Bar – Labour, Employment and Immigration – Juniors 2020’ category by Who’s Who Legal
“Not ruffled by the most complex of matters.” Legal 500
“His advice is concise and practical. He is clearly very smart, yet he’s still approachable and practical with his advice.” Chambers UK
“His legal advice is sound, robust and clear and he’ll really fight for the case. He goes the extra mile.” Chambers UK
“His advice was clear, concise and direct. I was particularly impressed by the commercial emphasis to his advice, balancing the risks with the overall commercial objectives to deliver pragmatic results.” Chambers UK
“He’s good in front of clients, always gets great results, is super-easy to deal with and he knows the law backwards.” Chambers UK
“He is a very good advocate and a very effective cross-examiner; he is able to be forceful and also be in control without being aggressive. He is very composed.” Chambers UK
“He is exceptional in tribunal; he will not get the judge’s back up and due to his presentation skills, he makes everybody listen.” Chambers UK
