THE tribunal also heard yesterday how “overpaid” senior partners could have taken pay cuts to save Sarah Sweeney’s job at DLA Piper.

A document discussed by the firm’s UK management board was entered as evidence.

Referring to the spreadsheet, Ms Sweeney’s barrister, Timothy Pitt-Payne, said it revealed the Liverpool real estate team’s budget savings could have been largely realised through pay cuts.

Mr Pitt-Payne said the document revealed Ms Sweeney’s colleague Mark Beardwood, an equity partner in the real estate team, was thought to be overpaid to the tune of £200,000.

It suggested his wages should be reduced to between £300,000 and £350,000, although the tribunal heard his salary was not £550,000 to begin with.

Philip Rooney, who is both the managing partner of the firm’s Liverpool office and an equity partner in the real estate team, was said to be overpaid by £100,000 and should see his £500,000 salary slashed.

Both the so-called “fixed share” partners, Alison Mills, who earned £200,000, and Mary O’Hanlon, who was paid £180,000, were also identified as ripe for salary cuts.

Mr Pitt-Payne said the management board considered partner pay cuts well in excess of £300,000. In the event, Mr Beardwood took a £50,000 cut, Ms Mills lost £20,000 and Ms O’Hanlon saw her pay reduce by £30,000. Mr Rooney volunteered to lose £100,000 of his salary, the highest reduction of any DLA partner.

Because of the way Mr Rooney’s salary is paid, those cuts totalled just £175,000 of savings for the real estate team’s budget. Axing Ms Sweeney, who was paid £120,000, saved the budget around £108,000.

Mr Pitt-Payne added: “Just as a matter of mathematics, if you had had partner remuneration reduced by over £300,000, you wouldn’t have needed to lose Sarah.”

But Mr Crossfield replied: “I think the original figures in that spread sheet were not viable and I would not have supported them. I could not have imposed savings which would have saved Sarah Sweeney.”