Another Freshfields Partner Exits Firm Following Internal #MeToo Investigation
The departure comes in the same week that the firm ushered in new conduct rules.
December 12, 2019 at 12:33 PM
2 minute read
A partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has left the firm following an internal investigation into his behaviour, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.
The firm confirmed to Law.com's Legal Week that investigations partner Nicholas Williams departed the firm on Wednesday (December 11) following an internal investigation. Three people with knowledge of the situation described the investigation as being #MeToo related.
A spokesperson at Freshfields said in a statement to Legal Week: "We can confirm that following an internal investigation, Nick Williams has left the firm and his last day was December 11."
A LinkedIn profile in Williams' name has since been deleted, alongside his online Freshfields profile.
The resignation comes in the same week that the firm ushered in new conduct rules, whereby partners could receive severe reprimands and fines of 20% of their profit share.
The investigation into a partner's behaviour at the firm is the second to emerge this year.
In October, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) opened a hearing into ex-partner Ryan Beckwith, who received a £35,000 fine plus £200,000 of costs for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with an intoxicated junior colleague.
Beckwith, a former restructuring and insolvency partner at the firm, resigned just moments before the SDT delivered its judgment.
Last month, Legal Week also revealed that Freshfields was investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, behind closed doors, for failing to report the Beckwith incident to the regulator as it was required to do.
Williams was unable to be reached for comment.
This content has been archived.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
© 2025 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 All
Singapore Litigators Shift Competitive Landscape as Another Senior Duo Sets Up Own Shop
Squire Patton Boggs Hires 7-Lawyer Team to Beef Up ESG Practice in Brussels
2 minute read
Skadden, White & Case Guide Citigroup Demerger in Mexico
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 2Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 3Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
- 4Lawyers' Phones Are Ringing: What Should Employers Do If ICE Raids Their Business?
- 5Freshfields Hires Ex-SEC Corporate Finance Director in Silicon Valley
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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
