The Australian arm of global legal giant Norton Rose Fulbright has been ordered to pay a former partner over $160,000 after the Federal Court found the firm deceived him into dropping a Fair Work claim, bringing a "bitter, protracted, and undoubtedly costly" legal battle to a close.

Tom Martin commenced a Federal Court action against the firm in 2017, alleging it made misleading representations that it was stopping its attempts to challenge his Fair Work Commission action over his dismissal.