It seems oddly fitting that professional thinker Matthew Taylor’s independent review of modern working practices, including in the ‘gig economy’, should have created a moderately well paid job vacancy in the professional services sector.

The vacancy in question? Well, based on Obiter’s inbox as Taylor published his review, the search is on for a non-leading employment lawyer, of which the country seems to be in achingly short supply. In fact, so rare are non-leading employment lawyers that Obiter estimates they can pretty much name their price.

Thanks to the efforts of communications professionals in a particularly crowded field, Obiter now knows about ‘leading employment lawyer’ Kerstie Skeaping, (Hill Dickinson); Stephen Morrall – ‘leading employment lawyer’ (Hunters); Abbiss Cadres’ ‘leading employment lawyer’ David Widdowson; Karen Coleman (Excello Law – ‘leading employment lawyer’, natch); and ‘leading employment lawyer’ Nick Le Riche (Bircham Dyson Bell).

Obiter even noticed an unnamed ‘leading employment lawyer’ being touted; an even more welcome variation came in the person of Hethertons lawyer Jo Yeates – ‘top York solicitor’.

So who will be Obiter’s non-leading employment lawyer? We think top of the list so far is Diane Nicol of Pinsent Masons. Modest Diane didn’t email Obiter and lacks the ‘leading’ epithet (only a ‘specialist’ according to the firm’s website). But as the only lawyer on Matthew Taylor’s review panel, she at least has some time on her hands now. And a bona fide claim to the adjective ‘leading’ too, come to think of it.

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