Katya Hosking

Katya has built a busy practice across all of Chambers’ core areas of work since joining Devereux as a tenant on completion of her pupillage.

She retrained as a barrister after a 16-year career in higher education, first in the USA as an instructor in the Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then as Inclusive Curriculum Officer at Cardiff University.

She decided to study law while volunteering as a trade union caseworker for the University and College Union and she retains a particular interest in employment, education and discrimination law. Katya is an active member of the Discrimination Law Association and also spent a number of years as a listening volunteer for the Samaritans.

As a pupil Katya gained experience in all of Chambers’ core areas: employment, personal injury, clinical negligence, insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence and tax .

• Employment

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  Katya has established a busy employment practice acting for both claimants and respondents in all areas of employment work. She is regularly instructed in multi-day hearings concerning unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, employee status and all forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

  Before coming to the Bar Katya spent nine years at Cardiff University as a policy officer with responsibility for equality and diversity in education. During that time she was a volunteer caseworker for the University and College Union and represented the Union in the development of several University policies. She retains a particular interest in claims involving schools, colleges and universities.

  Her publications include:

  “Discrimination Law, Equality Law and Implicit Bias” with Roseanne Russell in Implicit Bias & Philosophy, Michael Brownstein & Jennifer Saul (eds) OUP 2016

  Various articles and book reviews in the Discrimination Law Association journal ‘Briefings’, including case comments on Home Office (UK Border Agency) v Essop in the EAT, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court:

  • DLA Briefings vol. 53, 730, (Essop, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 55, 752 (Essop, CA)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 61, 830 (Essop, SC)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 73, 983 (Cummings v BA, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 76, 1018 (Allen v Primark, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 78, 1045 (Hilaire v Luton, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 79, 1057 (McQueen v GOC, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 80, 1072 (Greasley-Adams, EAT)
  • DLA Briefings vol. 82, 1097 (Abrahart, EWHC)

   

• Education

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  Katya is establishing a strong practice in education. She is regularly instructed in cases involving schools, colleges and universities, drafting pleadings and appearing in the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and in the county courts. 

  Her previous career gives her particular familiarity with the higher education sector. She taught philosophy and formal logic at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and then spent nine years as a policy officer at Cardiff University with responsibility for implementing the Equality Act 2010 in its provision of education. During that time she was a member of the national advisory group for the Learning & Teaching section of the Quality Assurance Agency’s Quality Code for Higher Education.

  She maintains her links with the sector and led a workshop on competence standards and curriculum design at the Equality Challenge Unit annual conference in November 2017.

• Commercial Litigation and Disputes

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  As pupil to Richard Harrison Katya gained experience in a range of insurance and professional negligence matters.

  She assisted Richard in C&S Associates UK Ltd v Enterprise Insurance Company PLC [2015] EWHC 3757 (Comm) which concerned a contractual dispute between a specialist motor insurer and a desktop claims handling firm. She also provided extensive research support in a marine insurance case raising questions about constructive total loss and the nature of valued policies.

  Katya has acted in a number of contractual disputes in the county courts and accepts instructions in all areas of commercial work.

• Tax

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  Katya is developing a practice in tax.

  As pupil to Aparna Nathan KC and Akash Nawbatt KC Katya gained experience in tax litigation as well as a range of advisory matters, including employee benefit trusts, managed service companies, residence and domicile, inheritance tax, transfer of assets abroad and the settlements provisions.