The senior partner at one of London's most ethnically diverse law firms, Dean & Dean, has accused the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of racial and religious discrimination.

Dr Shahrokh Mireskandari lodged a 90-page claim against the two bodies at the employment tribunal last week, alleging they had discriminated against him, and his firm, in the way they had handled complaints made against him by clients. In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, Mireskandari, who is of Iranian Muslim origin, claimed the respondents had acted 'unjustifiably, oppressively, disproportionately and outside their powers'.

A hearing date is yet to be set, and the Society and the SRA have until 17 June to respond. Both the Society and the SRA refused to comment. The SRA has set up a working party, chaired by Anesta Weekes QC, to investigate claims it conducts a disproportionately high number of investigations into ethnic firms (see [2008] Gazette, 1 May, 5). At the Society council meeting last week, Nwabueze Nwokolo asked the SRA to advertise a newly vacant seat on its regulator's board in the black and minority press.