Prominent London lawyer fired over soccer outburst
Posted On: Nov. 9, 2015 12:00 AM CST
Clive O'Connell, a well-known insurance and reinsurance lawyer in the London market, has been fired by his firm after he was recorded venting at rival soccer fans after a recent loss by his favorite team.
Mr. O'Connell, formerly a partner at Goldberg Segalla Global L.L.P. in London, was filmed Oct. 31 after Chelsea lost to Liverpool 1-3.
In the video for sports website Neek Sports, Mr. O'Connell branded Liverpool fans “scouse scum,” a pejorative term for Liverpudlians, among other things.
In a video message Sunday, Richard J. Cohen, managing partner at Goldberg Segalla L.L.P. in New York, said Mr. O'Connell's employment with the firm had been terminated.
“His conduct doesn't rise to the standard to which we hold ourselves and for those reasons we have terminated our partnership with Mr. O'Connell effective immediately,” Mr. Cohen said in the video.
Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Mr. O'Connell apologized for his “hotheaded and regrettable reaction, which he said was inappropriate whether or not caught on camera.”