A Fieldfisher partner has been accused of telling two trainees that they would be fired and their careers ruined unless they gave testimony in favour of the firm after saying that they had witnessed an altercation between a secretary and the office's managing partner.

The explosive allegation is made in a claim for unfair dismissal being brought against the firm by a secretary in Fieldfisher's Paris office. She has also accused Bruno Paccioni, the Paris office's managing partner, of assaulting her.

RollOnFriday can reveal that the secretary alleges the contretemps took place when she bumped into Paccioni on his way to the toilet. She accuses Paccioni of repeatedly pushing the door to the mens' loos against her when she asked him to pay her for overtime, hitting her with it in the process. She also claims that when Paccioni couldn't shut the door because she was in the way, he asked her whether she wanted to come in with him and if she wanted to "hold it" for him.

"Oui, oui, non, je comprend - mais can we discuss this dans deux minutes sil vous plait?

The secretary was dismissed the same day, and is seeking damages of €120,000. The sum includes compensation for the alleged extra hours she worked, her dispute with Paccioni and the "humiliating" conditions of her exit, which allegedly involved being ordered off the premises and standing on the pavement with a box of her belongings until her husband picked her up.

Whether the secretary was subjected to assault by toilet door or just hasty office bantaah from a man touching cloth will presumably be addressed at the hearing, due in September. But RollOnFriday also understands that after the incident the secretary approached two trainees (who were lucky enough to have desks near the toilets) and asked them if they would write down what they had witnessed. They agreed. However, it is alleged by a second secretary that within minutes of finishing their accounts a second partner approached the trainees and told them that they would be fired, and obstacles placed in the paths of their future careers, unless they issued new testimonies in favour of the firm. She alleges that one of the trainees broke down in tears over her treatment by the partner.

RollOnFriday understands that the trainees' original testimonies have been submitted to the tribunal, as well as the second secretary's testimony that a partner attempted to strong-arm them.

A spokesman for Fieldfisher said, "The case is still running and so we will not be commenting any further".