May Martin
'May was able to achieve successful results in quite a difficult area of law. For such a junior barrister to do this so confidently is remarkable'
About
May has a busy civil practice with a strong focus on employment law work.
May is regularly instructed in the Employment Tribunal for both preliminary and final hearings. She has significant experience with multi-day hearings, judicial mediations, reconsideration hearings, and remedy hearings. May is particularly comfortable in cases involving healthcare and public sector clients, including the NHS, having recently completed a secondment at a leading solicitors’ firm working almost exclusively with such clients. Recent work includes cases involving:
- Discrimination
- Whistleblowing
- Victimisation
- Interim relief
May also has a thriving practice in personal injury and clinical negligence. She accepts instructions across the full range of PICN work, including CCMCs, final hearings, application hearings, and drafting advices, Particulars of Claim, and Defences. She has been instructed in multi-track hearings and regularly conducts fast-track trials.
Before joining Chambers, May graduated from the University of Oxford with a First. She worked as a Judicial Assistant in the High Court, and spent time volunteering in Greece to provide legal aid to refugees.
Areas of Expertise
Contact May Martin
May Martin
'May was able to achieve successful results in quite a difficult area of law. For such a junior barrister to do this so confidently is remarkable'
About
May has a busy civil practice with a strong focus on employment law work.
May is regularly instructed in the Employment Tribunal for both preliminary and final hearings. She has significant experience with multi-day hearings, judicial mediations, reconsideration hearings, and remedy hearings. May is particularly comfortable in cases involving healthcare and public sector clients, including the NHS, having recently completed a secondment at a leading solicitors’ firm working almost exclusively with such clients. Recent work includes cases involving:
- Discrimination
- Whistleblowing
- Victimisation
- Interim relief
May also has a thriving practice in personal injury and clinical negligence. She accepts instructions across the full range of PICN work, including CCMCs, final hearings, application hearings, and drafting advices, Particulars of Claim, and Defences. She has been instructed in multi-track hearings and regularly conducts fast-track trials.
Before joining Chambers, May graduated from the University of Oxford with a First. She worked as a Judicial Assistant in the High Court, and spent time volunteering in Greece to provide legal aid to refugees.
May accepts instructions from both Claimants and Respondents. She has a particular interest in claims involving discrimination. Recent cases include:
- A claim for maternity and pregnancy discrimination involving a junior doctor (Dr G Challis v East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Others 2408343/2022)
- Successfully representing the NHS in a six-day disability discrimination claim (Mrs K Bentham v Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust 1801370/2023)
- Obtaining an order for re-engagement for a software engineer, with an award of over £80,000 in back pay
- Successfully representing Sky in a three-day unfair dismissal and race discrimination claim (Maycock v Sky In Home Services Ltd 2305577/2019).
- Successfully representing a national supermarket chain against a claim for race discrimination and unfair dismissal (Olt v Asda Stores Limited 140384/2021).
- Representing BT in a six-day claim for unfair dismissal and whistleblowing detriment.
- Achieving a five-figure settlement following a judicial mediation.
May accepts instructions across the full range of personal injury matters. She has significant experience in road traffic cases, credit hire, and cases proceeding under the RTA or EL/PL Protocols. Recent cases have included:
- Successfully representing a Claimant who was injured by a horse bite.
- Acting successfully on a claim involving a trip on a residential street.
- Advising on a claim for provisional damages following a serious leg injury suffered in an accident at work.
May has experience appearing before Independent Review Panels in relation to permanent exclusions of pupils from schools. She also accepts instructions to advise on issues of law and procedure in this area.
May is growing her clinical negligence practice and is keen to receive instructions in this area. Recent cases include:
- Successfully representing a Claimant at trial in a claim against the NHS for a delay in diagnosis of the Claimant’s lung cancer.
- A successful claim in a case involving surgical intervention where there was a failure to inform the patient of alternative treatment options.
- Drafting Particulars of Claim in a claim against GPs for a delay in diagnosis.
- PIBA
- Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
- Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA)
- The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple
Ba v North East London Foundation NHS Trust - successfully defended the Trust against allegations of race discrimination and whistleblowing detriment.
Olt v Asda (Olt v Asda Stores Limited) - successfully defended Asda against claims of race discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Hornsby v Next Distribution Ltd 1802496/2021 - successful claim for wrongful dismissal.
Sidhu v Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust - successfully defended claims of failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Maycock v Sky In-Home Service Ltd - successfully defended claim of unfair dismissal.
June 2023 - Jenkinson v Hertfordshire County Council article, published in AvMA's June newsletter.
June 2023 - 'Jenkinson v Hertfordshire County Council: no special rule for negligent medical treatment', published on localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk (Breaking the chain of causation (localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk)
March 2023 - ‘Failure to remove’ cases: when does the duty of care arise – and what is the impact on the family justice system? Family Law Journal Issue 3 2023, May Martin and Hannah Whitehouse
October 2021 - Religion and Belief Discrimination
April 2022 - Practical Tips in the Employment Tribunal
June 2022 - Personal Injury Case Law Update
- University of Oxford - BA (Jurisprudence) - First Class Honours
- University of Law Leeds – BPTC – Outstanding
- Senior Advocacy Scholar, The University of Law Leeds
- Inner Temple Exhibition Award
- Inner Temple Duke of Edinburgh Award
- Hertford College Prize for FHS Performance
