Charles Ferguson

You know you’ve reached an elevated status in your profession when others refer to you as a ‘doyen’. But that’s how the writers of the influential Chambers legal directory have chosen to describe Charles Ferguson in this year’s edition.

It’s an apt epithet for the man who founded Ferguson Solicitors in 1997 and is widely recognised as one of the City’s leading advocates in employment disputes.

Charles qualified as a solicitor in 1971 and, after completing his articles with global law firm Holman Fenwick & Willan, joined Johnson Stokes & Master in Hong Kong where he specialised in shipping litigation.

After returning to England in 1984, he set up a practice in Heathfield, East Sussex, which gradually developed a following among City traders and professionals. This led to the firm opening a London office in 1995. Two years later, Charles agreed with his partners to hive off the London practice which was renamed Ferguson Solicitors.

He has gone on to build the firm into one of the most respected legal practices in the City and to be accorded a personal coveted Band 1 listing in the Chambers directory.