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Although it was not UTA’s practice to terminate an employee
on a Sunday or without notice, on Sunday, April 21, 1996, UTA
terminated petitioner’s employment. Mr. Bauer was the only board
member not informed of the meeting, and he did not give his
consent to terminate petitioner without cause. Mr. Bauer felt
betrayed and treated with a lack of respect by the actions of the
other partners present at the April 21 meeting. Mr. Zimmer later
told Mr. Bauer to look at the bright side of the firing: they
could go after petitioner’s clients together. In the end,
however, most of petitioner’s clients left UTA.
Events Following UTA’s Decision To Terminate Petitioner
Immediately after deciding to terminate petitioner, UTA
contacted the media so that they would hear from UTA about
petitioner’s termination and not from petitioner or someone else.
It was not UTA’s general practice to contact the media to
announce the termination of an agent.
That same day, Mr. Stevens called petitioner at home and
informed him that he was fired for cause on account of his
inappropriate behavior towards Ms. Jones. It is unclear,
however, whether Mr. Stevens called petitioner before or after
calling the news media. Petitioner was shaken, upset, and
fearful about his future after learning he had been fired.
Since petitioner knew he needed an attorney, he called an
old friend from high school, Brad Berenson, who was an attorney
at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood (Sidley Austin) in Washington, D.C.
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