We welcome Elena Cornaro who joins us as a Legal Adviser after two years working at charity Working Families. Elena has a master’s in Human Rights Law with Distinction from SOAS and an undergraduate degree from Cambridge.
She said, “For me, the importance of protecting whistleblowers is two-fold – it’s extremely important to provide safeguards for courageous individuals who risk facing huge repercussions for speaking out against wrongdoing. On a societal level, having those safeguards in place for whistleblowers means any wrongdoing can be investigated in a timely and efficient manner, which can have enormous preventative benefits for employers and society as a whole.
“What I enjoy most about my job is helping people understand their rights. Too many people aren’t aware of the legal protections they have, which might prevent them from speaking out: that’s where we can help.”
Our Head of our Advice Line & Advocacy, Bob Matheson, who is training to be a solicitor, takes up a six-month secondment with law firm Lewis Silkin in March, in their Employment Litigation team. Bob said, “I’m looking forward to getting exposure to other areas of employment law and to building experience around the litigation process.”
We also welcome Lewis Silkin trainee solicitor Michael Szlesinger to Protect for a six-month placement. Michael studied Law at King’s College London and joined Lewis Silkin as a Trainee Solicitor in September 2020, focusing on Intellectual Property and Brands.
Michael said, “I’m excited to discover something new, practice my advisory skills on the advice line, and get involved in policy work.”
Protect Legal Director Sybille Raphael, said, “Welcome to Elena and Michael – our Advice Line is extremely busy, so it is a great time to be joining us to help support whistleblowers. We feel very lucky to have this exchange of talents with Lewis Silkin and are very excited to welcome Michael in our team. We look forward to Bob returning to us with new skills and fresh ideas.”