The Law & The Court of Public Opinion in UK and US - Those Soft Issues

 "[In the UK] A senior lawyer [Michael Wistow] accused law firm White & Case LLP of being a 'toxic' place to work alleging he was fired after suffering from mental health issues triggered by his wife’s death from cancer." - Bloomberg, May 19, 2022.

Before termination Wistow had been co-head of the EMEA tax practice. His lawyers contend that the anxiety and depression he experienced during his wife's illness and after her death should be legally treated as a "mental impairment." Wistow states he was unable to do his day-to-day work but received no support from the law firm.

That UK branch of the US law firm White & Case, however, contends that grief over the death of a loved one does not constitute disability under British Equality Act.

That's British law or, at least, how lawyers for White & Case are interpreting it.

Meanhile, these issues of an alledged toxic workplace and mental impairment are bound to resonate in the US legal sector. Overall, lawsuits by former employees against law firms receive quite a bit of attention. That's even more the situation if they involve soft issues. Currently, the parental leave rights for fathers litigation "Savignac v Jones Day" is sucking up plenty of oxygen in the court of public opinion. And attention, the saying goes, is the currency of the 22nd century.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

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