Leading employment lawyers have questioned the use by legal and professional services group Parabis of its subsidiary law firm to defend its employees in a poaching dispute.

Parabis employees Martin Hynes, Sarah Preston and Heather Smith were defended by Plexus Law, one of four law firms under the Parabis umbrella, in an employment covenants action brought by Kynixa.

Richard Fox, head of employment and a partner at London firm Kingsley Napley, said: ‘I have not heard of such a situation in my 22 years of practice.’

He added: ‘Ordinarily, it’s better to have separate representation to prevent any potential conflict situation.’

Ronnie Fox, employment specialist and principal at London firm Fox, agreed the situation was ‘unusual’, but said ‘there may be special circumstances in the current case’.

Tim Oliver, Parabis Group chief executive and senior partner at Plexus Law, denied that any conflict existed. He said: ‘Our primary responsibility is to the court and we wouldn’t consider doing anything that would breach any duty. Is this any different from an in-house lawyer advising one of its clients?’

The case arose after the defendants joined Parabis from Kynixa in breach of an employment clause barring them working for a competitor for 12 months after resigning.

The High Court decided all three had breached their employment contracts while Hynes and Preston had also breached shareholder agreements. Hynes was ordered to pay £250,000 to Kynixa in interim costs and Preston £100,000. Smith was required to contribute to Kynixa’s costs but there was no order for interim payment.