Baker McKenzie's current London managing partner said the trio involved in an internal investigation into alleged misconduct had "betrayed their colleagues" and "acted fundamentally at odds with the values of the firm", the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) into the incident heard on Tuesday.

Alex Chadwick's comments were made in a letter responding to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in 2018, Gary Senior's counsel Gregory Treverton-Jones QC said at the hearing on Tuesday morning during cross-examination of one of the internal investigators, Tom Cassels.

Chadwick had replied to the regulator after the alleged historical misconduct by Senior and subsequent internal investigation into it – led by then HR director Martin Blackburn and disputes partner Cassels – emerged last year. The SRA wrote to the firm, Senior, Blackburn and Cassels as a result.