Law Firms
Freshfields Wins Age Bias Claim
A London tribunal has sided with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in a claim by a former partner who contended the law firm’s new pension plan discriminated against older lawyers.
The Central London Employment Tribunal said the law firm had made the changes in a proportionate manner for a legitimate aim, Legal Week reports. The firm had argued the new plan enabled it to keep retirement benefits while reducing the burden on younger partners who had to pay for retirees.
Ex-partner Peter Bloxham had alleged the new plan forced him to retire so he could retain more generous benefits offered under the old plan.
The case was one of the first involving a partnership and the United Kingdom’s new age bias laws.
