It has emerged that the Freshfields partner who supervised an associate who continued to work long hours after being injured in an accident has vanished from the office.

The associate fainted at home and broke four ribs after working between 300 and 400 hours in a month. She turned up at work the following day and was still cracking on in the office two weeks later. Sources say that during this time she billed another 100 hours, including at least one all-nighter, despite being in considerable pain - eventually finishing up in hospital.

The associate is now well and back at work - which is more than can be said for the partner for whom she worked, who has been on extended leave from the London office.

A Freshfields partner yesterday

Freshfields refused to comment, but all the signs point to the firm having taken the incident sufficiently seriously to suspend the partner whilst the matter is investigated.