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A former CEO of a global pharmaceutical company has lost his appeal of a ruling throwing out a lawsuit he brought against his former employer after he was terminated in the wake of accusations that he harassed staff and using a syringe to stab multiple employees.
Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell has failed to postpone its appeal of a ruling over unpaid legal fees until after its senior counsel -- who is stuck in London -- can get a COVID-19 vaccine and return to Australia.
While there was no shortage of pain and challenges for law firms as the coronavirus raged across the globe last year, a number of big firms also felt the sting of litigation from disgruntled clients, partners and employees.
The managing partner of a high-profile Sydney law firm has told the barrister cross-examining him that the word menstrual means "monthly" in Latin, when explaining an email in which he slammed the firm’s former general manager’s practice of billing clients on a "menstrual based cycle".
Lawyer John Atanaskovic, the founded of Sydney firm Atanaskovic Hartnell, could come across as "rude" but he was other times a "model of civility and subordinance", former equity partner Tony Hartnell has told a court during trial in a case by a former general manager alleging bullying and breach of contract.
A former general manager suing law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell has amended her pleadings as trial in her case resumes Friday, expanding her claims and including details of an email in which the firm's managing partner allegedly slammed her practice of billing clients on a "menstrual based cycle".
Atanaskovic Hartnell has mostly come up short in a court battle for over $172,000 in legal fees, with a judge finding the law firm was in a "manifest position of conflict" in its dispute with two media companies defrauded by one of its former lawyers, Brody Clarke.
Running a law firm is not without risk, chief among them staring down a lawsuit by a client, an ex-partner or employee, even a rival firm. Last year, Australian firms faced numerous actions alleging everything from sex discrimination to negligence.
A former general manager who is suing law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell for alleged bullying and faces cross claims that she failed to satisfactorily perform her job was offered a part-time role with the firm after resigning, despite being "grossly negligent", a court has heard.
A US institutional investor can use hindsight evidence in its breach of contract case against a former ANZ Bank trustee over the winding up of failed defence tech firm Metal Storm.