Katie Fudakowski
Partner
Before joining Farrer & Co as a Partner, Katie had built up a decade of experience in employment and safeguarding law practising as a barrister at Old Square Chambers. Katie is valued her for her ability to cut through to the key issues and grasp the nettle with decisive and clear advice.
Katie advises schools, education businesses, sports organisations and charities on:
- Equality Act and discrimination law
- Live and historic safeguarding issues and crisis management
- Education law (special education needs, exclusions, regulatory inspections)
- Employment Tribunal litigation
Katie is recognised as a next Generation Partner for education and a key lawyer for sports in Legal 500 2023. She is the firm lead for safeguarding in sport and a member of the Council of Europe Sport Division's Pool of international Experts on Safe Sport.
Expertise
Katie advises school and education business clients on all issues involving pupils, parents and staff. She combines experience of safeguarding, education and employment law and advises on:
- Equality Act compliance eg reasonable adjustments duty and transgender inclusion
- Discrimination allegations
- Investigations
- Child on child abuse cases
- Management of low-level concerns
- Pupil exclusions
- Regulatory inspections-challenging ISI and Ofsted
- Parental complaints and appeals
- Staff misconduct cases and capability procedures
- Employment Tribunal litigation and settlement agreements
- Special education needs cases and First Tier Tribunal litigation
- Serious incident reporting to the Charity commission
- Referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and the Teaching Regulatory Authority (TRA).
Katie advises every type of sports club and their governing bodies and sports businesses in safeguarding, equality and employment matters. Her clients include premiership football clubs and national sports governing bodies. Her expertise includes:
- Equality Act compliance
- Discrimination claims
- Safeguarding reviews
- Management of allegations against staff / members / volunteers
- Drafting safeguarding and equality policies
- Advising on governance issues
- Safer recruitment of staff and volunteers,
- Carrying out independent investigatory reviews
- Advice on the handling of live or historic safeguarding concerns
- Claims arising out of historic abuse
