Two non-equity partners laid off from the Düsseldorf, Germany office of Clifford Chance 
are suing the firm over their termination.
The partners were fired as shareholders, but claim they were actually employees. The distinction is important under German law, as employees are very difficult to dismiss under the Unfair Dismissal Act.
If the suit is successful, then countless other former partners may run to the courts to sue their old firms.
Founded in 1975, Philadelphia’s Dechert LLP is an international law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with top-ranked practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, and financial services and asset management
