She started her career as the secretary for
Henry Hodge at the
Child Poverty Action Group. She subsequently worked at
Gingerbread advising single parents and then took a law degree at the
London School of Economics where she focused upon
social justice, studying the legal aspects of
sex discrimination. She then worked for a variety of legal employers, including
Bindmans LLP, before setting up her own partnership, Palmer Wade, with Joanna Wade in 2002. In 2009, she joined the firm
Leigh Day, where she led their employment team, and represented the high-profile client
Miriam O'Reilly at an
employment tribunal in 2011, when O'Reilly sued the
BBC for
unfair dismissal on the grounds of
ageism. The case was won but O'Reilly left the BBC a year later and founded the Women's Equality Network with Palmer – a forum for women facing similar discrimination. In 2014, Palmer started the charity Your Employment Settlement Service (YESS) which aims to provide legal advice to employers and employees so that they can resolve disputes economically without the expense of litigation. In 2023, she joined an employment mediation team based in
Doughty Street Chambers. == Personal life ==