City firm 'branded woman a whinger'

Katherine Wallace was also branded a "whinging, whining Communist" by another boss at law firm Tarlo Lyons in the Square Mile, she told the hearing in central London.

Ms Wallace, of Lewes, East Sussex, gave evidence to support a sexual discrimination case against the firm brought by Sarah Collins, a former colleague.

Ms Collins, 38, who earned £105,000 a year, claimed she was sacked two-and-a-half hours after telling her bosses she was pregnant.

Earlier, Ms Collins told the tribunal the firm had a "lavish" culture.

Her boss Lawrence Phillips told her she had "good breasts" and the father-of-three pulled a female client's g-string and groped another trainee solicitor during a work night out, it was alleged.

Today, Ms Wallace said that during a City lunch another boss, Philip Diamond, told her she had to be more aggressive in promoting herself.

"It's a man's world," he told her, adding "women need to get out there and show their balls".

He said it was "typically a female way of thinking there could be a meritocracy at the firm".

Ms Wallace said there were lots of "locker room" jokes and it had a culture that was "very pallsy, in a little boys way".

Ms Wallace, who worked at the firm from September 1996 to June 2003 and was promoted to an associate, said Lawrence Phillips also called her a "whinging, whining Communist" and accused her of "backing the wrong horse by siding with the underdog".

Ms Wallace said she became an informal mentor to more junior colleagues but felt she could not complain about her bosses' antics and that a "them and us" relationship developed at the firm.

"I was scared of them taking a very bullish approach. I did not want to put my head above the parapet," she added.

"The concern I had was every time any complaint was made it would get side-tracked into a position where no-one would make a formal complaint so the firm would have a clean copy book."

On another occasion she was out with other colleagues and clients for drinks but told to go home by partners at the firm because they wanted to go on to a lap dancing club with the clients.

Tarlo Lyons denies Ms Collins's claim of sexual discrimination. The tribunal continues.