A French Banker, a Lost Bonus and a Boombox at ‘Full Blast’

(Bloomberg) -- Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance says a former board member who's suing to recoup bonuses poached a prospective client and blasted out loud music in the office to avoid working his notice period when he quit.

The dispute played out this week at the Paris employment tribunal as a lawyer for Christian Menard, a 16-year veteran at the bank, said it unfairly withheld deferred pay for 2014 to 2016 worth more than 250,000 euros ($277,000) as well as his 2017 bonus after he resigned in May that year.

The bank's attorney had a different tale.

He said Menard was in a rush to leave Edmond de Rothschild without working his notice period after he'd negotiated to advise Naxicap Partners on an asset sale so he could take the client with him when joining rival Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.

“Failing to get what he wanted, Menard came to the bank on June 6, 2017, with speakers and a sound system and put music on full blast,” attorney Nicolas Serre said. “It's in these conditions that the company agreed to excuse Menard from working his notice period, to have some peace and quiet.”

The lawyer said he shared with the employment tribunal panel several emails from colleagues who complained about not being able to get any work done because of the loud volume coming from Menard's office.

Fighting Back

Bankers routinely turn to specialist labor courts to recoup bonuses, but it's rare to see former employers counter by seeking even more compensation. Edmond de Rothschild says Menard owes the bank 1.15 million euros to make up for lost advisory fees Naxicap would have paid over the sale of an organic food wholesaler for 150 million euros.

Serre even detailed the fee structure Edmond de Rothschild had negotiated with Naxicap: 800,000 euros for a sale between 140 and 145 million euros and an extra 7% for anything above that. To press his point, the attorney said the bank discovered that Menard had transferred a confidential presentation meant for Naxicap to his personal email address.

Edmond de Rothschild representatives declined to comment, while Naxicap didn't respond to calls and emails. Menard referred to the arguments used by his lawyer, Julie Chevalier Carriou, who dismissed the bank's assertions. A ruling in the case is expected on March 2.

Naxicap was buying Menard's services, not the Edmond de Rothschild brand, Chevalier Carriou said. The relationship with an individual banker “is very strong,” she said.

It's also hardly surprising that he joined a rival, according to Menard's lawyer. His work conditions deteriorated in 2017 amid a management shakeup, and he wasn't looking to change careers, she said.

“He didn't all of a sudden become a baker,” Chevalier Carriou said.

She added that Edmond de Rothschild's attitude makes no sense, given the seriousness of its allegations.

“If the bank really thought the employee had pinched 1.15 million euros, I would be a defendant in this case and it would be the plaintiff,” Chevalier Carriou said. “It's not the case here. This all comes in response to our requests.”

Menard's lawyer also cited the case of former Morgan Stanley dealmaker Bernard Mourad, who won more than 1.4 million euros after the Paris employment tribunal ruled that the American bank improperly withheld so-called loyalty bonuses when he quit in 2015 to join up with telecommunications mogul Patrick Drahi.

Chevalier Carriou described similar circumstances, saying that Menard was told by Edmond de Rothschild in 2015 that part of his bonus for the year would be deferred and required him being still employed at the bank for the next three years. The condition continued to apply after that for the loyalty bonuses.

“This affects all employees of the bank,” she said.

Serre said the loyalty bonus came on top of performance awards Menard had been earning before 2015 and substantially increased his total pay to encourage him to stay with the firm. Menard had no complaints at the time, he said.

“Menard was very happy, he had an extra bonus,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gaspard Sebag in Paris at gsebag@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser

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