Charissa Upton

Managing associate

Charissa Upton

Managing associate

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+44 (0)1223 465436

Cambridge

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Charissa is a managing associate in the employment team in Cambridge.  She advises corporate and private clients on all aspects of employment law, both contentious and non-contentious.

While she has a particular interest in life sciences and supporting emerging and growing companies, her client base covers a broad range of industry sectors, including financial services, technology, energy and natural resources and retail and leisure. With a strong track record for supporting clients with business transfers, restructuring and redundancies (on all scales) and drafting, negotiating and advising on the full range of employment documentation, Charissa is highly commercial and pragmatic in her approach.

Understanding my clients’ aims and delivering their preferred outcome is a top priority for me. I pride myself on giving astute commercial advice and working collaboratively to resolve whatever complex legal issues they are facing. Building relationships with clients across a range of sectors and being viewed as their trusted adviser gives me a real buzz.

Charissa Upton, Managing associate

She has significant experience of acting for senior executives, as well as their employers, providing strategic advice on restrictive covenants, exit strategies and settlement negotiations. Charissa is recognised by clients for her empathetic but indefatigable style. She qualified in 2004 and joined Penningtons Manches Cooper in 2018 after more than 10 years at a City law firm.  Building on her financial services experience, Charissa has also spent time working as part of the employee relations team at a major investment bank.

Recent work highlights

Board dispute

Advising a life sciences company on a board dispute and subsequent exit by a founding director. This required advice on highly sensitive and complex employment, restrictive covenant and shareholding matters, while navigating professional conduct issues.

Large-scale restructure and integration

Working closely with HR business partners to advise on an acquisition, restructure and subsequent integration into the client’s group, including providing strategic and detailed advice on TUPE, redundancy and collective consultation obligations.

EDI grievance

Advising a high-profile client on a complex sex, race and sexual orientation discrimination grievance involving the senior leadership team. We worked with an external HR consultant to conduct the investigation and hear the grievance and advised on implementing the recommendations.

Misuse of confidential information

Acting for a client seeking to enforce restrictive covenant obligations against former employees and their new employer, including drafting pre-claim correspondence and contractual undertakings.

Senior employment documentation

Drafting, negotiating and advising on the full range of employment documentation for senior executives and C-suite directors, including complex restrictive covenants and bonus provisions.

Outsourcing agreement

Reviewing and advising on the employment aspects of two major outsourcing agreements for a well-known entertainment venue and drafting appropriate front and back-end warranties and indemnities.

External recognition
Rankings from respected legal directories reflect the reputation our lawyers have earned across their key sectors and areas of practice.

What people are saying

Charissa Upton – very pragmatic and highly intelligent.

Legal 500

Charissa is a very capable all-round employment lawyer.

Chambers UK

Charissa was astute, reassuring, reliable, highly knowledgeable and a real ally. She was a pleasure to work with and filled me with confidence at every step of the process.

Chambers UK

Charissa is a pleasure to work with, giving detailed and prompt responses while being super reliable.

Chambers UK

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