Simmons & Simmons is advising former Olympus president Michael Woodford, who was sacked after blowing the whistle on dubious deals at the company, as he takes his case to the London Employment Tribunal.
Woodford began his claim for unfair dismissal at the East London Employment Tribunal today and is reportedly seeking a payout worth tens of million of pounds for the loss of up to 10 years’ earnings.
Woodford was fired as president and chief executive officer of Olympus in October after he raised the alarm on $1.7bn (£1.06bn) of questionable deals that were later admitted to be fraudulent. After being sacked Woodford went public with his misgivings, concerning a series of payouts made by the company for acquisitions between 2006 and 2008, and the ensuing investigations have so far led to the arrest of seven people connected to the scandal.
Employment partner Mark Hewland is leading Simmons’ legal team advising Woodford, with Matrix Chambers’ Thomas Linden QC instructed as counsel.
Optics company Olympus, meanwhile, has instructed Slaughter and May to argue its case, with partner Ewan Brown leading.
