The former head of employment at City firm Rosenblatt felt alleged comments about 'thick clients' made by the firm’s founder were unprofessional, a tribunal heard today. Noel Deans, who has brought claims of racial discrimination, unfair dismissal and breach of contract, told the Central London Employment Tribunal that he felt ‘if he sneezed he was criticised’ and behaviour towards him changed after his alleged protected disclosure.

RBL Law Limited, former chief executive Nicola Foulston, founder and senior partner Ian Rosenblatt and director and compliance officer Anthony Field are named as respondents.

Deans, who was head of employment at Rosenblatt until February 2020, said: ‘It was a serious suspension letter and my assistant was asked to deal with this. There was no discussion with me. I would have expected the respondent to speak to me about this very serious note…I was excluded. I would be expected to be asked about this and prior to my whistleblowing I would have been.’

Deans was asked about his allegations that Rosenblatt made ‘comments about a client that were uncomplimentary’.

Richard Leiper KC, for RBL Law and Rosenblatt, asked: ‘There is no breach of code of conduct in relation to that is there?’

Deans replied: ‘I disagree. We are under a duty to work for our client’s best interests. There were…different actions taking place in the UK and other countries. It was a big team and between eight and 10 people in the room, some junior. The client expects us to be fully behind it and senior partners should be motivating everybody to champion the client’s cause and to say the CEO, an American, was thick, inarticulate and for Ian Rosenblatt to mimic him in front of everyone was unprofessional.

‘He goes on to say, which trivialises the matter, “where would we be without thick clients?”’

When asked if he contacted the Solicitors Regulation Authority to report his concerns, Deans said: ‘No I did not, I expected the compliance officer rightly or wrongly to deal with that.’

Deans, who is a litigant in person, told the tribunal: ‘If I sneezed, I was criticised.’

In Deans' resignation letter, he said it was ‘regrettable’ his position had become ‘untenable’ due to racial discrimination, retaliation for making a protected disclosure and demotion without just cause.

After the letter was emailed, Rosenblatt went to see Deans. He said: ‘He was banging very loudly on the door, on the glass. He was calling me a big man.’

Leiper said: ‘He asked if you had a lawyer and your response was I’m not going to tell you shit…You said you’re going to bury his career.’

Deans said: ‘No I did not say that. No.’

Leiper told the tribunal ‘at one point’ Rosenblatt lost his temper after Deans ‘suggested he bugged people’s rooms’ – a claim Deans denied.

Leiper said: ‘He accused you of being a fucking antisemite.'

Deans replied: ‘For the first time, yes. He was swearing a lot in that situation. I would not call it a meeting.’

Leiper said: ‘He did not say you do not know who you are fucking with.’

Deans said: ‘He certainly did.’

Leiper asked about Rosenblatt’s greeting with Deans, shortly after he started working at the firm. He said: ‘He gave you a fistbump, a normal greeting?’

Deans replied: ‘In a professional environment I have never seen someone fistbump a white new junior. It is customary to shake hands.’

He added that he saw Rosenblatt greet ‘other people who had just arrived with a handshake’.

Speaking of Rosenblatt, Deans said: ‘I was trusted to advise his clients. Nicola [Foulston] was consistently telling me that he did not like me and I sometimes saw evidence of that in his correspondence, but he did have trust in my abilities or he would not have allowed me to advise high profile clients in the way that he did.

‘I made him look very good. Some of the clients I worked for sang my praises. I know he said people criticised me but there is nothing in writing to that effect.’

The hearing continues.