Baker McKenzie partner embroiled in sexual assault scandal to leave as firm faces SRA scrutiny
Bakers gears up to launch independent review into its handling of alleged assault and confirms partner involved will go
February 05, 2018 at 06:31 AM
2 minute read
The Baker McKenzie partner at the centre of a sexual assault scandal is set to leave the firm as it faces scrutiny from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) over its handling of the alleged incident.
The global firm confirmed today (5 February) that the partner who allegedly assaulted a female associate is to leave, with the news coming as the SRA seeks further information from Bakers about its handling of the incident.
The historic incident, which took place at a work event more than a year ago and was first reported by RollOnFriday, resulted in an associate receiving a payout from Bakers and entering into a confidentiality agreement before leaving.
An SRA spokesperson said: "Now that we're aware of the issue, we will seek further information before deciding on appropriate action."
Firms are required to alert the SRA promptly if they believe lawyers have broken the SRA's code of conduct.
Bakers has apologised for how it managed the incident and is preparing to launch an independent review into its handling of the event.
A Bakers spokesperson said: "We are in dialogue with the SRA on this matter. As a firm, our values of inclusion and diversity are extremely important to us and we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all employees. That is why we are commissioning an independent review of this particular incident and how it was subsequently handled by the firm.
"The review will also consider how we handle complaints of sexual misconduct and other inappropriate behaviour toward colleagues, to ensure we are guaranteeing the protection of our employees. We are really sorry this incident ever happened and we acknowledge we should have handled it better."
Earlier this month, Dentons suspended a male partner in response to allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The firm has launched an internal investigation into the claims, which refer to behaviour by the partner when he was at legacy Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens, which merged with Dentons in July last year.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAggressive, Assertive: Is There a Private Equity Lawyer Stereotype, and is it Deterring Talented Juniors?
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: Playing the Talent Game to Win
- 2A&O Shearman Adopts 3-Level Lockstep Pay Model Amid Shift to All-Equity Partnership
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5A RICO Surge Is Underway: Here's How the Allstate Push Might Play Out
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250