In a rather unusual sequence of events, an associate at a top-tier law firm, Travers Smith, allegedly lost his job over a dispute related to kittens, reports Above the Law.
As RollOnFriday first disclosed, the associate was on secondment at Inflexion, a private equity client of Travers Smith. The incident sparked when an employee at Inflexion attempted to sell some kittens through the company’s internal messaging app. The associate showed interest and decided to buy two of them. Things took an unexpected turn when the kittens turned out to have fleas, leading to a dispute between the associate and the seller.
The associate, unhappy with this development, persistently messaged the seller over a period of few weeks. He demanded that the kittens be returned and refunded as they were not in the condition described at the time of sale. His insistence culminated in an eight-page letter outlining the associate’s legal and statutory rights and expressing his willingness to initiate court proceedings against the seller if he did not comply.
This chain of actions snowballed, leading Inflexion to approach HR regarding the issue. The case was subsequently escalated to Travers Smith, resulting in the end of the associate’s secondment. It is further reported that Travers Smith suggested the associate offer an apology to the seller and donate the cats to a shelter.
Interestingly, the associate allegedly declined to give the kittens away for free and stated that he would only do so if the firm refunded the purchase price of the cats. Ultimately, his employment with the firm was terminated and it is noted that the associate still has the kittens in question.
The unique case underscores the unforeseen professional issues that can arise from personal transactions outside of the workplace.