The #Metoo movement seems to follow Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer like a very bad smell, but the latest issue involves a Freshfield’s woman partner whose conduct in respect of the investigation of a rape complaint involving a UBS bank employee has come under scrutiny from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The Financial Times reported that Freshfields employment partner Caroline Stroud was being investigated by the watchdog for her conduct in dealing with a review of the investment bank’s handling of a rape allegation.
Caroline Stroud is an experienced commercial litigator specialising in employment issues, including investigations of misconduct by regulators.
Freshfields said in a statement ‘We refute the allegations’, made against Stroud after she was drafted in by UBS to review the way in which the bank investigated a complaint of an alleged rape victim against a colleague.
Nevertheless, the SRA has seen fit to launch a probe into the allegations, but would not be drawn on the timeframe. A spokesperson for the SRA said: ‘We are investigating before deciding on any next steps. Our work on this matter continues, but we cannot discuss any details about our work while it is ongoing.’
The regulator is reportedly reviewing complaints that Stroud did not make her role in acting for UBS clear to the alleged victim, referred to as ‘Ms A’, something that the firm and Stroud apparently deny.
The #Metoo issue is something Freshfields would not be happy about following the issues involving partner Ryan Beckwith (pictured left) who last year was fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal regarding inappropriate sexual conduct with a junior lawyer, which prompted the firm to reform is practices over the manner in which such behaviour is handled.
The growth of the #Metoo movement and the criticism faced by regulators has seen increasingly stern measures taken over the handling of complaints of this nature.
Freshfields, it seems, is once again at the forefront of #Metoo matters, just when it must have thought they were being left behind.
Latest Law Firm News From LawFuel
- How Aaron Teitelbaum Led DOJ’s Google Takedown
Who Is Aaron Teitelbaum, The DOJ’s Antitrust Virtuoso Who Helped Topple Google’s Ad Tech Empire? Ben Thomson, LawFuel… Read more: How Aaron Teitelbaum Led DOJ’s Google Takedown - The Profit Per Lawyer Olympics Sees Three New Firms Medal in 2024’s Money Marathon
In a year when lawyers in swanky glass towers were booking profits faster than partners could update their Patek Philippe collections, three new firms have crashed the Am Law 100’s exclusive “Super Rich” party. Dechert, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, and Jenner & Block have all secured VIP access to the club where profits per lawyer hit at least $550,000 and revenue per lawyer tops $1.1 million. - Five More Law Firms Pledge $600M to Dodge Executive Order Bullets
Biglaw’s Trump Surrender Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor In what appears to be a growing trend across the… Read more: Five More Law Firms Pledge $600M to Dodge Executive Order Bullets - Susman Godfrey Vows to Fight Trump Executive Order
Trump’s Law Firm Hit List Grows Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor When the former president decides your firm… Read more: Susman Godfrey Vows to Fight Trump Executive Order - Former Skadden Lawyers Express “Deep Outrage” Over Trump Representation
What Did The Skadden Letter Say? In a strongly worded letter delivered to Executive Partner Jeremy London this… Read more: Former Skadden Lawyers Express “Deep Outrage” Over Trump Representation - Who Are The Leading Lawyers Who Helped Pushback On The Trump Executive Orders?The opposition mounted by over 500 law firms against Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms was a remarkable show of unity in a profession facing intense criticism for its compliance and genuflection before the President. The collective action, which culminated in the submission of an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie’s lawsuit, was orchestrated by Munger Tolles & Olson, with former Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, Jr., leading the charge as counsel for the amici.
- The Great Law Firm Rebellion Sees Young Associates Stage Unprecedented Exodus Over Trump Deals
In the marble-lined corridors of legal power, a rebellion is brewing over the ‘Trump deals’ being made by biglaw firms targeted by the administration in recent weeks. Associates at two of America’s most prestigious law firms are doing what many might have thought to have been the unthinkable—resigning from coveted positions that pay north of $220,000 annually to protest their firms’ Faustian bargains with President Trump, marking perhaps the most significant crisis of conscience Big Law has faced in a generation.
