BT Tower, London

"Surprising." That's how one partner at an elite firm described the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal's sanction of former Baker McKenzie London head Gary Senior last week.

Several echoed such views around the industry after he was found guilty of professional misconduct regarding sexual harassment and of seeking to influence an internal investigation into the matter, but not banned from the profession and instead ordered to pay a fine of £55,000 plus costs.

One former Baker McKenzie partner said: "[The fine] seems lower than some of the other fines in similar cases. The system is paranoid about lawyers' conduct with clients. The tribunal harshly punishes lawyers embroiled in financial or client-related misconduct. But are the priorities right? I don't know."

A current partner at Baker McKenzie added Senior was in "an incredible position of influence and power", but thinks the tribunal may have taken the view that the sexual harassment incident "was leaning more towards a private life issue than as an overall threat to the profession" whereas influencing the investigation "molds more into professional misconduct as it shows dishonesty, which solicitors shouldn't be guilty of according to SRA standards."

In addition to the fine, Senior agreed to pay U.K. regulator the Solicitors Regulation Authority £40,000 plus VAT in costs. This is less than the total amount paid by former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ryan Beckwith, who was ordered to pay a £35,000 fine as well as £200,000 in costs after he was accused of sexual activity without consent.

Another former Baker McKenzie partner said the SDT "couldn't possibly have struck off Gary when they didn't strike off Ryan Beckwith, who allegedly did something 10 times worse."

But some think there could be a simple explanation for the lower financial penalty.

The former partner said that the judges may have taken into account the case's impact on Senior's reputation and private life. He added: "£55,000 doesn't seem like much, but law firm partners don't sit on a £10 million pile of cash. Given he lost his case, he's going to have to bear all of his legal costs which must be high."

Another former partner raised the same point and Senior would not be covered by insurance as he lost his case, unlike the other three respondents – Baker McKenzie, the firm's former head of dispute resolution Tom Cassels and its former head of human resources Martin Blackburn.

While Senior's own legal fees costs were not disclosed throughout the hearing, it was said in court on Monday that Tom Cassels had spent £1.6 million on legal fees. The tribunal also heard Cassels had spent £658,000 in legal fees during 2020, which meant he exceeded his insurance cover by £373,000.

A person close to Senior told Law.com International that Senior's costs were "significantly lower than the other respondents'" and that he is able to pay them.

The former partner said: "Gary was found guilty, but insurance only covers those who win their case so he'll have to pay for his own legal fees. The fine is on the lower side of the scale, but if you relate it to his own costs it becomes significant.

"The other three won their respective cases, so they are covered by insurance. Tom Cassels would have been covered by the firm's insurers because he was on the management committee at the time of the incident, Martin Blackburn would have been covered too."

He estimated that as London managing partner at the firm, Senior would have earned between £600,000 and £700,000 a year. He said the managing partner at Baker McKenzie is not necessarily the highest-paid partner.

The firm's accounts ending in June 2012, the year of the incident, show that the highest-paid partner took home close to £855,000.

The ex-partner added: "His credibility is shot, and it's a sad end to his career but he brought it upon himself."

Senior's next step is unclear. He was previously listed on legal head-hunting company Piper Pritchard's website as a consultant, but his profile has disappeared. He also had a profile on a website for consultancy company Helix Insight, but the website is now private. A person close to Senior said he still works for Helix Insight, and his profile was removed from Piper Pritchard's website because he is not a headhunter.

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