Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Admits It Botched Handling Of Sexual Assault Allegation Against A Partner

Baker McKenzie 'regret[s]' how they dealt with the incident.

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Baker McKenzie released a joint report last week that admits the way the firm handled the alleged sexual assault by a partner at the firm involved “a number of shortcomings… which we very much regret.”

Well, yeah. For those that don’t remember the story from earlier this year, a partner in the firm’s London office was accused of assaulting an associate after a firm event six years ago. The associate reported it to the firm, and they investigated. But instead of getting rid of the offending partner, the firm just sanctioned him and reached a settlement with the associate who was victimized. It was only after the story became public that the firm bowed to pressure and the accused partner left the firm.

The joint report, done by a committee of senior firm officials along with Simmons & Simmons, looked at more than just the incident in question, instead focusing on what allowed it to occur and what needed to change at the firm, as reported by Legal Week:

Bakers said the review was “global in scope” and had “considered what measures, mechanisms and processes the firm should have in place to ensure such matters are dealt with to the highest standards, by considering the protection of complainants, appropriate confidentiality in the interest of the complainant, due process, disciplinary measures, firm governance, institutional knowledge-sharing and achieving the highest ethical standards within the firm.”

Bakers’ statement added: “Simmons commented that as a firm we had been particularly open and transparent in our desire to ensure that we got to the root of the problem and to learn from our mistakes.”

The firm noted that the process has been a challenging one, but one that was absolutely essential, saying, “None of this has been easy, but it’s been a necessary period of reflection and self-assessment.” The good news is that change is coming to Baker McKenzie:

The firm will bring in a ‘First Point of Contact’ role in an effort to ensure that all its offices have a number of 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”.

Bakers also noted that during the past six years it has taken proactive measures including rolling out a firmwide code of business conduct and an independent reporting hotline,  implementing enhanced mandatory training on conduct and ethics, and creating a role of chief people officer to take on diversity and inclusion-related responsibilities.

The firm is still being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over their handling of the incident.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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