HSF removes Australian partner for social media posts directed at Jewish lawyer

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has eliminated an Australian associate from the agency following an inside investigation right into a social media put up directed at a Jewish lawyer at one other agency.

The controversy stems from a put up on X (previously generally known as Twitter) by company associate Damien Hazard referencing Jeremy Leibler, a Jewish lawyer at Australian agency Arnold Bloch Leibler. The net interactions have been in relation the latest hearth at Melbourne synagogue, which is being investigated as a terrorist arson assault.

Based on reviews within the Australian media, the put up learn: ‘By no means too quickly for @jeremyleibler to simply invent a hyperlink with anti-genocide protests,’ and went on to accuse Leibler of ‘cynically politicising this crime’ and sowing a ‘life lengthy disinformation marketing campaign’ conflating the ‘real evil of anti-semitism with the fundamental humanism of condemning Israeli genocide’.

HSF chair and senior associate Rebecca Maslen-Stannage mentioned in a press release that HSF’s council had resolved to take away Hazard, and that that discover had been issued to him.

Hazard had been with HSF and legacy Australian agency Freehills – which merged with the UK’s Herbert Smith in 2012 – for nearly three a long time.

Maslen-Stannage additionally underlined the agency’s dedication to supporting its Jewish community, stating: ‘We now have reached out to leaders of our agency’s Jewish community to make sure they really feel supported at this troublesome time.’

The transfer comes at a crucial time for HSF, as it’s gearing up for a partnership vote on its proposed tie-up with US agency Kramer Levin, a agency which has robust Jewish connections. Identify associate Ezra Levin was inducted into the Bronx Jewish Corridor of Fame in 2016 and is called an advocate for the civil and social rights of Soviet Jews.

If the merger goes forward as anticipated, it can create Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, a worldwide agency with greater than $2bn in income and over 2,700 attorneys, considerably increasing HSF’s presence within the US.