Former Freshfields partner level age discrimination suit on firm

07/11/07

Former Freshfields partner level age discrimination suit on firm

Former head of restructuring for international firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and senior lawyer, Peter Bloxham, 54, accused his former partners of age discrimination-a law that lets employees claim unlimited damages. The new age discrimination legislation was introduced last October and so far more than 1,500 claims have been made under it. Bloxham filed the claim against UK's third-largest law firm with London's Employment Tribunal.

Earlier the law firm had voted to reform its pension plan in 2006 whereby partners could choose between retiring and retaining most benefits or staying on and losing as much as 40% of their future compensation. According to a firm release, in course of a nine-day hearing, the law firm will argue that 78% of its partnership approved the change in benefits, which is the result of a "three-year exhaustive analysis." The former plan, paid for by active partners, gave all the retiring partners a lifetime right to only 10% of total profit, which it said was "unsustainable."

Bloxham, in his defense, is expected to argue that the law firm changed its pension plan without sufficient consultation. He will also argue that the law firm forced him to retire in October, six months prior to a planned departure. Recent survey results of more than 50 organizations in the country also reveal that almost one in nine employers in the country had been hit with age discrimination allegations since the laws took effect. Like several other law firms in the city, Freshfields had also retrenched several senior lawyers. The law firm however maintains that the policy of retrenchment is unrelated to the pension changes.

Linklaters, LLP announces billion dollars financial year-end results
International law firm Linklaters, LLP, announced its results for the financial year ended 30 April 2007. The results showed a revenue increase of 20% to $2.2 billion, while profits rose by 29% to $970 million. The average profit per equity partner rose 22% to $2.56 million. The results promise a very successful year for the firm, stated Linklaters managing partner, Tony Angel.

Linklaters, LLP, offers expert legal counsel to leading international companies, financial institutions, and governments on their most complex transactions and assignments. It operates offices in major business and financial centers around the globe. Linklaters became Linklaters LLP, a limited liability partnership in May 2007.

BIZARRE NEWS

Spanish women want cows instead of bulls
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