In-House Counsel

Lawyer Learning The Hard Way Offensive Nicknames For Colleagues Are, In Fact, Offensive

So not okay in the workplace.

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shock email wow Amazed entrepreneur working on lineBack in 2022, BNP Paribas attorney Benedict Foster found himself suddenly retired after allegations of inappropriate behavior swirled. According to reports, he had a penchant for offensive “nicknames” he’d bestow on colleagues. He called an Asian colleague “Hu She” and “Global Head of Bag-Carrying,” referred to his female managers as “cunts,” and called an Indian colleague “Biryani.” Some really wild stuff.

BNP Paribas investigated the incidents and imposed sanctions on Foster, but cleared him of racist intent. This led to other employees complaining it was “frankly embarrassing” that the “grievance process is a sham and a farce” and “there are no consequences for blatant racist behaviour.” Shortly after came the announcement Foster was retiring from the company.

Now a few years later, there may be more consequences in the pipeline. As reported by Roll on Friday, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has referred the case to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, something they do in “the most serious cases of professional misconduct.”

An SRA spokesperson told ROF, “We can confirm that a decision to refer has been made and the case is currently with the legal team”.

The SDT has not made a ruling in the case as of yet, but the lesson, as always, is keep the offensive nicknames out of the workplace.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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 or Mastodon @[email protected].

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