Jeanette Wheeler

Jeanette Wheeler is a Solicitor practising employment law with almost 25 years of experience of advising a wide range of employers and senior executives. She is a Partner at Birketts LLP where she heads the firm’s 35 strong Employment and Immigration team of lawyers and she also sits on the firm’s Partnership Board. Jeanette is Deputy Chair of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and she sits on the Norwich area Chamber Council. She has previously held the post of Chair of the Norwich Business Women's Network and from 2013 to 2015 Jeanette was President of the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society.

In 2013 Jeanette was co-opted onto the BIS Business Challenge Panel, a government review of employment legislation aimed at rolling back employment law red tape on employers. Jeanette is experienced at providing media commentary and is regularly asked to speak or participate in public discussions or lectures on legal or business related topics. She specialises in large scale restructuring exercises, TUPE, disciplinary matters, whistleblowing and grievances. She is also particularly interested in the diversity challenges arising in the workplace.

Previously Jeanette travelled extensively to the USA for speaking and business development engagements and was invited by Ernst & Young to sit on its Silicon Valley General Counsel roundtable alongside the GCs of some of the largest companies in the world.

Jeanette is recommended and named as a 'Leading Individual' by Legal 500 [UK 2022] Jeanette is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers [UK 2022].

Jeanette joined the UEA Council in 2019.