Chris Coombes

Chris Coombes advises clients on the full spectrum of employment issues and has broad experience working on global employment projects for clients with international operations. He helps clients find pragmatic, commercial solutions, especially in the context of settlement negotiations and post-termination restrictions. Chris has a particular focus on the platform economy and technology sectors, having spent the latter part of 2022 on secondment to Uber’s legal team.

Chris regularly advises clients in relation to redundancies, business transfers, grievances, misconduct, performance, data protection and trade union issues. He has experience in leading complex, sensitive settlement negotiations and has also worked on multiple high-value employment tribunal claims, with a particular focus on discrimination and whistleblowing.

Clients in Legal 500 say, "Chris Coombes is a rising star, having been virtually seconded to one of our businesses for most of the year. What makes the difference is that GQ|Littler understand our business structure and the varying influences on decision making around the companies." Others say, "Philip and Chris are experts in their field but what sets them apart is the commerciality of the advice and the speed of service. They make us feel like we are their only client – and certainly their most important! We value the honesty of the advice and the practical solutions they offer us. They have made strong connections with our team such that they are now very much regarded as part of our cohort."

Before joining GQ|Littler in in April 2020, Chris trained and qualified at international law firm Baker McKenzie. During his training contract at Baker McKenzie, Chris completed seats in the employment, private equity and corporate tax departments.