Dean Parnell

Head of Department, Partner
Dispute Resolution, Employment, Health Care

Tel: 0121 698 2200
Office: Birmingham City Centre


Dean works with his clients in three key areas: Dispute Resolution, Employment and Regulatory.

Dispute Resolution

  • High value, complex commercial disputes
  • Court injunctions/emergency court applications including; search orders and freeing orders, or delivery up orders
  • Shareholders and/or director disputes
  • Professional negligence
  • Insurance related disputes
  • Partnership disputes
  • White collar fraud
  • Alternative dispute resolution, including mediation

Employment

  • Unfair and wrongful dismissal claims (including Employment Appeal Tribunals)
  • Preparation of staff handbooks and contracts of employment
  • Advising on disciplinary procedures/hearings
  • All aspects of employment related discrimination
  • Compromise agreements

Regulatory
Advising and representing companies in respect of regulatory investigations in connection with:

  • Health and safety
  • Trading standards
  • Food safety

Defending companies in relation to:

  • Health and safety
  • Trading standards
  • Food safety

Dean has acted for a wide range of organisations including:

  • FTSE 100 companies
  • Multinationals
  • Central and local government
  • Owner managed businesses

Recent Cases

  • Acted upon a £9 million dispute unauthorised removal of a database.
  • Acted on a £13 million dispute against HM Revenue and Customs arising from disputed unpaid VAT invoices.
  • advised a national retail chain on large scale collective redundancies.

What our clients say

Dean has been described by some of the firm's leading commercial clients as

"first and foremost a problem solver who will often think outside the box"
"an excellent lawyer"
"will always fight your corner"
"genuinely cares about delivering the best possible result"
"we regard him as an essential part of our team".

What the Directories say

In the 2011 Legal 500, Dean is referred to as 'highly rated' and is specifically mentioned as jointly heading up the Dispute Resolution team.

Awards and Recognition

Dean was President of Birmingham Law Society during 2010/2011 and had a very successful year in office.

Dean was one of 6 finalists for the 2011/2012 Legal Personality of the Year category of the Law Society Excellence Awards. The judges described Dean as "an inspiration while President of Birmingham Law Society" and having "proved to be an exemplary ambassador for England's second largest city"

Career History

2003 – joined Sydney Mitchell as a Partner
2000 – 2003 Pinsent Curtis Biddle
1995 - 2000 Hammond Suddards
Qualified as a solicitor in 1995

Publications

Dean has a considerable amount of published articles in the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Law Society Bulletin.

Education

Heolddu Comprehensive School
Leicester University

Memberships and Offices held

  • The Alternate Dispute Resolution Group
  • The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • The Employment Lawyers Association
  • Dean is past President of the Birmingham Law Society. He has chaired the Dispute Resolution Committee within Birmingham law Society since August 2009.