Karen Ainslie

Karen is an employer and labor lawyer based in Johannesburg. She specializes in litigation and regularly appears in the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts. She has extensive experience in reviewing arbitration awards and in unfair discrimination claims.

Karen has a profound experience advising on all employment aspects arising from transfers, mergers, and the realignment of South African offices with international group offices. She often advises on the practical and contractual aspects of Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, which regulates the transfer of contracts of employment. Karen has advised on several major deals in the telecom industry. She was on the team involved in the Barclays Absa acquisition and became one of the few practitioners with the knowledge to represent South Africa's largest airport management company in a successful bid on the Basic Services Committee of the Conciliation, Arbitration and Arbitration Committee. field. Karen represents South African and African clients in retail, manufacturing, mining and healthcare.

In an Acritas Star Lawyers poll published in January 2018, Karen was regarded as a Star Lawyer. The Star Attorneys list is based on 4,300 customer reviews over 3 years.

Karen is included in Legal500, 2018's list of recommended labor and employment attorneys. Karen was named one of the top three finalists in the Law category according to CEO Magazine's 2011 Most Influential Women in Business and Government of South Africa.

Karen holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Pretoria. Karen joined the company in 2002 and was appointed Director at the age of 27.

Karen is a member of the South African Labor Law Association (SASLAW) and also regularly supports SASLAW projects free of charge, providing legal assistance to labor courts. She regularly conducts seminars and training and is invited to comment on changes in labor law as a guest speaker on radio and financial media.

Office: Johannesburg