A supremely effective advocate both in the employment tribunal and appeal courts in all aspects of employment and discrimination law. He is consistently praised for his sure handling of clients, his firm grasp on a case and above all his ability to achieve excellent results in court. He works closely as a team with solicitors and lay clients, bringing exceptional commitment and experience to each case.
He has a particular special interest in age discrimination, having appeared in some of the first successful age discrimination cases including Woodcock v Cumbria PCT, Court v Dennis Publishing and advising in Selden v Clarkson Wright and Jakes. He is further well known for disability discrimination and appears in doctors’ disciplinary cases.
Deshpal studied law at the London School of Economics. Having grown up in Northern Ireland, his interest in employment and discrimination law started when he co-annotated the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 for Sweet and Maxwell some of the earliest legislation outlawing religious discrimination. After being called to the Bar he was a member of 13 Kings Bench Walk building a thriving employment practice before being invited to join Old Square Chambers in January 2006.
Deshpal lectures widely on employment and discrimination law.
Reported cases include:
Age discrimination
- Woodcock v. Cumbria PCT EWCA Civ 330; I.C.R. 1126; I.R.L.R. 491; Eq. L.R. 463; Times, June 21; on when age discrimination can is justified.
- Court v. Dennis Publishing (IDS Brief 840, November) Age discrimination in redundancy.
- Selden v. Clarkson Wright and Jakes I.C.R. 716 on age discrimination, compulsory retirement and justification, in which case he provided the first advice.
- Games v. University of Kent (Times Higher Education Supplement) on whether mandatory doctorate requirements are unlawfully age discriminatory.
Collective agreements
- Gilgrove Ltd & Another v. Hay & Others EWCA Civ 412, ICR 1139, on the enforceability of traders collective agreements.
- George v. Ministry of Justice EWCA Civ 324 on the principles of construction of collective agreements generally.
Contracts of employment
- Qantas Cabin Crew (UK) Ltd v. Lopez and Hooper I.R.L.R. 4, on airline staff contracts of employment and the doctrine of mistake.
Unfair dismissal
- Bowater v. Northwest EWCA Civ 63; [2011] I.R.L.R. 331; 118 B.M.L.R. 163.
Race discrimination
- Nazir v. Aslam & Others I.C.R 1225 on the burden of proof in race discrimination.