Biography
Deborah is a partner in our London employment team advising senior executives and directors.
She advises on all aspects of employment law including:
- Whistleblowing
- All types of discrimination including pregnancy/maternity, sex, race, age and disability discrimination
- Equal pay
- Bonus disputes
- Unfair dismissal
- Redundancy
- Settlement agreements
- Grievances and disciplinary issues.
Deborah has significant experience in the financial services sector negotiating high-value settlements and litigating complex claims. Many of her cases settle confidentially without progressing to a full merits hearing.
Her approach is to resolve disputes pragmatically and at an early stage wherever possible, resulting in favourable outcomes for her clients and allowing them to move on with their lives. She has acted for a number of high-profile individuals where reputational issues are paramount.
However, Deborah will litigate tenaciously where needed. For example, she represented the appellant in Green v SIG Trading Limited which was heard in the Court of Appeal and concerned the territorial reach of whistleblowing protections. She also successfully represented the respondent in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Royal Surrey County NHS Foundation Trust v Drzymala which upheld the Tribunal’s finding of unfair dismissal.
Deborah has been a frequent speaker at the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), most recently speaking on hybrid working at its Annual Conference in May 2022 and on future claims in settlement agreements in May 2024 and March 2025. She also speaks annually on the ELA settlement agreements course.
In 2019, Deborah spoke on an expert panel on whistleblowing at the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Labor and Employment Law conference in New Orleans and in May 2023 spoke at the ABA International Labor and Employment Law conference in Amsterdam on the subject of handling redundancies. Deborah is a member of ELA, the European Employment Lawyers Association, the ABA and the Association of Partnership Practitioners.
She has contributed to a number of publications including ELA briefing and commented in The Guardian and The Telegraph.
Testimonials
"Deborah gives frank, constructive advice and negotiates fiercely on your behalf." "She is a brilliant senior executives lawyer who always gets her clients the best deal." - Chambers & Partners 2025 (Band 4)
'Deborah Casale is empathetic, practical and gets results.'
'I am delighted that I chose Deborah Casale to represent me. Deborah and her team were incredibly helpful and supportive. Deborah gave frank and constructive advice and negotiated fiercely on my behalf. I felt like Deborah was on my side personally as well as professionally.'
‘I am delighted that I chose Deborah Casale at Irwin Mitchell to represent me. Deborah and her team were incredibly helpful and supportive. Also very efficient when the clock is on - which is important! Deborah gave frank and constructive advice and negotiated fiercely on my behalf. I felt like Deborah was on my side personally, rather than simply providing an extremely professional service. I am very grateful and will return to Irwin Mitchell in future.’
‘Deborah Casale is a force of nature when representing senior executives. She is extremely focused on cost-benefit for the client and her approach is laser focused to get the executive the best deal that they can get.’
‘Deborah Casale knows what senior executives want. A very aggressive strategic approach and then, if possible, she trades the executive out. However, if it is not possible then she has the full tool box to take the case all the way and ensure that the executive has the best prospect of winning contentious litigation. If you are a senior executive and you want a deal or need to fight, then she is your lawyer.’ - Legal 500, 2025
"She supports executives in their most difficult moments and looks to exit them or negotiate deals at the highest level. She is a very tough negotiator and achieves excellent results for her clients. Where necessary she is not scared to litigate and will do so both tactically and strategically for the best outcome." - Legal 500, 2023
"Deborah provided an efficient and informative service with the right level of empathy and support to ensure you felt your voice was heard but balanced with rational interpretation of potential outcomes." - Legal 500, 2021
"Deborah absorbed the finer details of a complex situation quickly which made me feel comfortable and confident early on in our discussions. Her calm and consistent manner in navigating through negotiations reassured me that our shared focus was committed to upholding integrity. Deborah listened carefully and responded efficiently to any queries I had and never made me feel rushed in our discussions. Deborah’s approach is client-centric and highly professional. This ensured that I explored all aspects of my case appropriately and carefully. Thank you very much Deborah." - 5* Trustpilot review
