Lawyer launches race action against own firm

A leading lawyer has launched a racial discrimination claim against the firm he has worked at for more than 20 years.

Tax expert Robert Schon, who is Jewish, has lodged a complaint against Simmons & Simmons, one of London's best known firms.

A hearing at the Central London Employment Tribunal is expected in the autumn.

The firm declined to comment on the allegations, other than to say it will mount a defence against them.

"This is the first time I've heard of a claim by a partner involving racial discrimination," said Sue Ashtiany, an employment partner at lawyers Nabarro Nathanson.

The move comes at a difficult time for Simmons, which suffered an 8.3 per cent fall in profits per partner in the last financial year. Turnover also failed to grow. In April it responded by announcing it would get rid of 12 per cent of its 94 British partners.

The vast majority of the firm's partners were vulnerable to the cull.

They could be removed from partnership - or even ejected from the firm - if 75 per cent of the other partners voted against them. However, a handful of partners, including Mr Schon, had flatly refused to sign up to the 75 per cent rule. They cannot be removed by their colleagues. It is thought the dispute centres on these "entrenched rights".

"An entrenched right means partners cannot be gotten rid of," explained Helen Power of The Lawyer magazine.

Mr Schon, 52, who lives in Hampstead and became a partner at Simmons & Simmons in 1988, advises international firms on corporate tax issues.

He has recently helped a leading US commodities group acquire two significant UK businesses from the liquidators of Enron.

For the past 15 years he has also advised a leading US retailer on all tax aspects of its UK operations. Before joining Simmons he was a tax lawyer with Peat Marwick McLintock (now KPMG).

His solicitor, Colin Harvey of Weightmans, said: "I am not making any comment. Mr Schon has asked me not to."

A spokeswoman for Simmons - whose most high-profile client is probably Philip Green, the entrepreneur who tried to take over M&S - said: "We have received a complaint.

"We will be filing a defence at the appropriate time. Given that this matter is now before a tribunal it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time."

A date for the hearing at Woburn Place in Bloomsbury can only been set after Simmons' defence has been filed.

A spokesman for the employment tribunal said: "When we receive an application for a tribunal we send off details to the respondent within four days.

"We normally give them 21 days but Simmons & Simmons asked for an extension, which has been granted till the end of this week."