Baker McKenzie Admits 'Shortcomings' in Handling Sexual Assault + More News
The law firm seems to be making the best of an awkward situation. Plus, a note to all Supreme Court aspirants: Buy your domain names now.
October 15, 2018 at 10:04 AM
4 minute read
Hey, wasn't Kayne West's rant at the White House (and Saturday Night Live's parody of it) something? I know I can't possibly compete with Donald Trump's pals or the Not Ready for Prime Time Players in the entertainment department, but I'll do what I can to amuse you.
Here's my spin on some of the news of the day:
Baker McKenzie's official mea culpa on sexual assault. I guess you could say that Baker is making the best of an awkward situation. Remember how word leaked out earlier this year that the firm was harboring a sexual assaulter in its London office? Of course, once the details spilled out (the alleged assault happened six years ago, and the firm settled with the female associate who made the complaint), Baker eventually kicked out the accused partner. (By the way, we all know the identity of the ousted partner, but mum's the word for a variety of legal sticking points.)
Almost eight months later, the firm has now issued its official report about its handling of the whole thing. (Simmons and Simmons worked with Baker to do the investigation and report.) And guess what? The conclusion is that Baker botched the situation. (Legal Week reports that Baker announced there were “shortcomings” in how it managed the incident.)
Well, duh! If your firm boots the predator only after the assault and payout of hush money are exposed, that's not exactly a profile in corporate courage.
To show that the firm is now on top of things, Baker announced new initiatives to deal with inappropriate behavior. Among the measures is the creation of a “First Point of Contact” role in which all offices provide trained people “who are available in person as a first point of contact for questions or concerns regarding inclusion, respect at work or breach of a policy.”
That sounds like a mouthful of corporate talk, if you ask me.
But maybe we should give more credit to Baker. After all, the firm didn't hurry the investigation. Moreover, it said that its investigators conducted more than 36 interviews, as well as “analysis of relevant documentation.”
That's a hell of a lot more than what the FBI did in the Brett Kavanaugh investigation.
Speaking of the devil, guess who owns BrettKavanaugh.com? Maybe those magnificent legal minds should take a break from pondering the great constitutional issues of the day and pay more attention to their own brand.
It turns out that BrettKavanaugh.com, BrettKavanaugh.org and BrettKavanaugh.net aren't owned by our most recent Supreme Court Justice, reports Mashable. Instead, those sites are owned by an organization called Fix The Court and link to resources for sexual assault survivors.
Mashable also reports that comedian Dave Weasel bought honbrettkavanaugh.com, which links to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Note to all Supreme Court aspirants: Buy your domain names now.
Let Them Not Eat Cake. Who knew something as innocuous and scrumptious as cake could be such a powerful instrument to quash gay rights? It's happening, and it's not just in Colorado anymore.
Recently, U.K.'s highest court ruled unanimously in favor of the evangelical owners of a bakery in Belfast who refused to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage message, reports The Guardian. And like the Masterpiece Cakeshop case this summer, in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of a Colorado baker to refuse making a cake for a gay wedding, the U.K. justices made their ruling on free speech grounds.
And what kind of cake did the customer in Northern Ireland order? It was one that was to feature Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street with the message “support gay marriage” (Same-sex marriage is not legal in Northern Ireland.)
I, personally, cannot understand how anyone can get all worked up about a cake with cute Sesame characters.
Anyway, I think it's a shame that baked goods are being dragged into all this mess. Do we now have to check the religious/philosophical/political orientation of our favorite baker to make sure we don't have fundamental differences?
Can't a cookie just be a cookie?
Contact Vivia Chen at [email protected]. On Twitter: @lawcareerist.
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