Kadoorie empire embroiled in feud with ex-in-house lawyer, Hong Kong court document shows
Golden handshake worth HK$25 million, annual HK$8 million consultancy contract and 500 emails of accusations at centre of legal tussle
A bitter legal tussle between the Kadoorie business empire and a fired in-house lawyer has spilled into public view, involving a HK$25 million (US$3.2 million) golden handshake, an annual HK$8 million consultancy contract and more than 500 emails of accusations.
A judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal last month revealed that three judges granted an injunction to Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons against Samantha Jane Bradley, its former director of the legal department.
The injunction restricts Bradley from sending a large number of emails containing “hostile and disparaging” allegations to the firm’s family members, its employees and its legal representative.
In July, Britain’s employment tribunal made a judgment available to the public that showed Bradley, a UK national practising law for nearly three decades, advanced the legal battle in the country’s court two years ago.
Bradley, who worked full-time for the family from 2009 to 2020, accused the company’s former director and her former supervisor, John Leigh, of trying to dismiss her in October 2020 after she took issue with various matters relating to alleged tax evasion.
The legal document showed Bradley had filed claims against Leigh of “unfair dismissal, whistle-blowing, detriments, victimisation and discrimination on various grounds”.
