Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has removed a lawyer from its partnership over a "deeply offensive" X post that criticised how a Jewish lawyer at another firm responded to an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue. 

HSF chair and senior partner, Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, said the firm's council had decided today (12 December) that Sydney-based Damien Hazard "should be removed as a partner from our firm."

“We have issued him with the relevant notice," Maslen-Stannage said. “We have reached out to leaders of our firm’s Jewish network to ensure they feel supported at this difficult time."

HSF began an investigation into the matter earlier this week, Law.com reported, after it became aware of an X post by Hazard that criticised Jeremy Leibler, a partner at prominent Melbourne firm Arnold Bloch Leibler and president of the Zionist Federation of Australia. 

The post, since deleted, related to Leibler's response to the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne being set on fire last Friday (6 December), which is being treated by Australian authorities as a suspected terrorist attack. Police are currently searching for three suspects in relation to the attack.  

“Never too soon for @jeremyleibler to just invent a link with anti-genocide protests,” Hazard wrote in the post according to media reports. He also wrote Leibler was “cynically politicising this crime” and creating a “life long disinformation campaign” that conflated the “genuine evil of anti-semitism with the basic humanism of condemning Israeli genocide.”

In a statement earlier this week Maslen-Stannage said: “We were shocked to learn on Friday evening of a deeply offensive post, and very sorry that it was written. These comments could not be more at odds with our firm’s respectful and inclusive culture.

“On learning of the post, we quickly contacted the partner and it was removed the same evening. We have apologised to the individual named in the post, and assured him that we are treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves."

Hazard's profile on X has been deleted. He had been a partner at HSF for the past 12 years and before that was a partner at Australian firm Freehills prior to its merger with legacy Herbert Smith. 

His removal from HSF comes as the firm finalises a merger with New York outfit Kramer Levin. The tie-up still needs to be approved by the partnerships of both firms and, if successful, will create a firm with more than 2,700 lawyers and around $2bn in revenue. 

Leibler declined to comment on the matter. Hazard did not respond to a request for comment.