City law firm confirms that investigation is underway following the sexist email scandal that has engulfed Premier League supremo Richard Scudamore.
DLA Piper has issued a statement after one of its partners was named by the Daily Mail as the lawyer with whom Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore had a sexist email exchange.
According to the original exposé by the Sunday Mirror, Scudamore’s lawyer friend referred to women as “gash” in the emails, telling the Premier League boss: “save the cash in case you find some gash”. That lawyer, it now appears, is top DLA Piper sports law partner Nick West.
In a reference to Peta Bistany, the Premier League’s planning and projects director, West also apparently wrote: “Have spent all day fending Edna off my graphite shaft. She is terribly relentless isn’t she?!”
The overriding tone of the emails was highly derogatory to women, featuring lame sexual innuendo and quips made by Scudamore about “female irrationality”.
This morning DLA Piper issued this comment:
“We uphold the highest professional standards as a firm and this matter is being fully investigated.”
When contacted by Legal Cheek, the firm declined to elaborate.
DLA Piper will be especially disappointed with West’s alleged comments given that the firm boasts one of the higher percentages of women partners in the City, with 20% of its London partners female.