London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Also in UK: Sexual misconduct cases at record high in legal profession

Also in UK: Sexual misconduct cases at record high in legal profession

Sixty-three cases were reported to solicitors’ governing body last year, figures show
The number of reports of sexual misconduct in the legal profession in England have increased over the last five years and have reached a record high, according to newly released figures.

Reports of sexual misconduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have more than doubled over the last five years from 25 in 2014-15 to 63 in 2018-19, with the number of reports in the last year alone increasing by 16%, according to the response to a Freedom of Information request.

Sophie Vanhegan, partner at GQ|Littler, which requested the figures from the SRA, said employees in the profession were becoming increasingly willing to speak out.

“The increases coincide with the growth of the #MeToo movement, and likely reflect broader cultural changes arising from that,” she said. “Although there has been progress among UK law firms, such as restrictions on alcohol consumption at work events, these figures show that there is still progress to be made.”

In May last year, a global survey revealed that bullying and sexual harassment was rife in the legal profession. In the UK, 62% of female respondents and 41% of male respondents said they had been bullied, while 38% of female and 6% of male respondents reported sexual harassment.

The release of the figures follow a number of high-profile sexual harassment cases. In October, Ryan Beckwith, who was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, was ordered to pay £35,000 in fines and £200,000 costs after a tribunal found he knew or should have known a junior female colleague was too drunk to make a proper decision about sexual activity.

A former senior partner at an international law firm is being investigated by the SRA over allegations he sexually harassed a junior colleague in 2012. Gary Senior is accused of telling a junior female colleague he was attracted to her, attempting to hug and kiss her, persisting when she told him to stop and attempting to influence an internal investigation. He denies the allegations.

The firm is also accused of not referring Senior to the SRA when it learned of his alleged misconduct in 2012. The woman involved signed an NDA with Baker McKenzie after its initial internal investigation had been concluded.

A spokesman for Baker McKenzie said the firm had cooperated fully with the SRA: “We’ve learned much from this episode, recognised what went wrong and have well-established and effective policies and programs in place across the firm.”

Members of the “magic circle” of large law companies have taken measures in recent months to reduce the risk of sexual misconduct. Over the Christmas party season, the law firm Linklaters launched a sober supervisor programme, with certain partners designated a “non-drinking” role to keep an eye on colleagues.

Meanwhile, Slaughter and May has banned work-subsidised ski trips, following an incident that led to a lawyer leaving the firm after an allegation of sexual harassment was made after a trip, the Telegraph reported.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×