An international law firm has vowed to review its stress management protocols after a partner committed suicide earlier this year.
Hogan Lovells’ intellectual property specialist David Latham was well regarded by colleagues but started to find it hard to cope at work and threw himself under a London Underground train earlier this year.
After the man’s death, his employer released a statement reading: “David was one of life’s true gentlemen. He had good sense, good principles and a good heart and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
According to reports seen by The Lawyer, the man’s wife – Gilly Webb – told Westminster Coroner’s Court that the expert had felt “unsupported” at work and this was a contributing factor to his death.
It is understood that Hogan Lovells’ partner induction process did not mention any aspect of stress management but this will no longer be the case, as executives at the firm have pledged to examine policies and procedures surrounding the psychological strain put on staff at its offices.
