A Maltese magistrate has accused Farrer & Co of illegality and ethical breaches, and has said that she will report the firm to the country's president.

Farrers is acting for Julie Meyer, the founder of venture capital firm Ariadne Capital, who is facing a number of employment claims in Malta. The Maltese Independent reports that Meyer emailed Donatella Frendo Dimech, the magistrate dealing with her cases, to maintain that she was not obliged to attend court. Farrers followed up with a number of emails to the magistrate's deputy.

Frendo Dimech was less than delighted at being told what to do by a London law firm. The firm's emails were read out in her court on Wednesday morning, prompting the furious magistrate to claim that they were an illegal attempt to influence the court. She said that she would be passing the emails on to the country's president, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

Magistrate Frendo Dimech. A Maltese, cross.

Earlier this month Meyer issued a statement which stressed that she had made "exhaustive efforts to collaborate and cooperate with the authorities" and directing any enquiries to Farrers.

A spokeswoman for the firm said “what we have attempted on behalf of our clients is to establish the facts relating to decisions made at a recent hearing and the purpose of future hearings where no notice has been given to the clients. It was not our intention to show any disrespect to the court.”