Magic circle firm Clifford Chance is being sued in New York for alleged discrimination after the firm made six US associates redundant in 2007.

Karen Ramdhanie, one of the six associates, alleges in a New York Supreme Court filing lodged last week that Clifford Chance discriminated against her on grounds of race, gender, national origin and age.

Ramdhanie’s filing says that she, three other black lawyers, and two white women worked exclusively on client Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, before they were made redundant. The filing says that two white males were transferred from this group of associates before the cuts were made.

Ramdhanie is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, and a letter of apology from Clifford Chance. She is also demanding that the firm alters its recruitment policy for black associates.

A spokeswoman for Clifford Chance said the firm would not comment while the case was in litigation.

Ramdhanie says in her filing that, of 37 associates in the firm’s US financial products department, the only black associates worked in the exclusive Standard & Poor’s group. The associates in this group undertook document review for Standard & Poor’s when rating mortgage-backed securities.

Ramdhanie’s submission to the court claims that her two sons have suffered following her sacking, and that she has suffered from depression.