Sophie Vanhegan

Sophie is a Partner at GQ|Littler and has extensive experience in both High Court employment litigation and cross-border M&A transactions. Sophie is experienced in all aspects of employment law and specialises in complex employment litigation. She regularly advises on restrictive covenant, breach of confidentiality and team move matters which involve High Court injunctions and subsequent trials, as well as bonus disputes and high-value discrimination claims. Many of the cases she works on have cross-jurisdictional elements. She has worked on some of the most complex employment litigation matters and specialises in tailoring a strategic approach to her clients’ risk and litigation appetite. Her clients include businesses in the financial services, technology, partnership and LLP sectors. Sophie’s recent client experience includes advising a FinTech company on enforcing a non-compete restriction against a former senior employee who had joined a competitor; defending a financial services firm in a multi-million pound discrimination dispute with a former employee; advising a bank on a protracted financial misconduct investigation involving a regulated person; and advising a major financial services client on a restructuring of its bonus deferral arrangements. She has also advised a range of clients on reopening their workplaces following the COVID-19 lockdown. Sophie is also a co-founder of the firm's Women's Leadership Initiative. · Littler