A lawyer has told parliament that they were sexually assaulted by a Magic Circle partner while a junior member of the team, and then gagged with a non-disclosure agreement.
The claims were made in a submission to the Women and Equalities Committee, which is conducting an enquiry into workplace harassment. The unnamed and ungendered solicitor, 'X', who no longer works at the unidentified Magic Circle firm, said the assault represented a serious breach of privacy and caused significant harm to the lawyer's mental health. X declined to give specific details of the experience because, the solicitor said, "I remain committed to the individual concerned being appropriately sanctioned" and feared jeopardising a possible future tribunal or trial.
However, X detailed how the firm's treatment of the complaint "significantly contributed" to the distress of the episode. The associate described feeling "compelled" to enter into a non-disclosure agreement, which forces X to seek permission from the firm whenever they want to share certain details of the assault with other parties. "There were particular points raised by the firm in relation to the confidentiality undertaking which caused me particular concern", said X, "which again I am unable to comment on due to such actions being the subject of continued investigation”.
The firm ensured her testimony was mostly "Mm-ddhhmm" and "Hm-gm-dm-fmm". |
X said that it was "clear" that the Magic Circle firm was lacking in the expertise to deal with a claim of serious sexual misconduct, and that the lawyer had reported the firm to the SRA.
Last year RollOnFriday revealed how a senior Baker McKenzie partner had sexually assaulted a junior lawyer who was subsequently silenced with an NDA*. It lead to a string of stories highlighting the prevalence of sexual assault, sexual harassment and the use of NDAs in the legal profession. Suggesting proposals for detailed policies on the subject, X said there was a particular need because incidents of sexual misconduct were "rife" at large City firms, where there was a "culture of excessive consumption of alcohol".
None of the Magic Circle firms leapt at the chance to tell RollOnFriday that it was them.
*Days after RollOnFriday pressed the SRA on its failure to explicitly address the rights of gagged victims to report attacks, the regulator released new guidance warning firms against using NDAs to prevent complaints being made.
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What?! All of parliament!
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Seriously tho, X, if you're reading - and it sounds like you're fairly sensible - I hope you've reported this to the police if you want "appropriate" sanctions.
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This person clearly states that the investigation is ongoing, which is why, I presume, they are unable to give more specific detail via this forum.
The committee also expressly requests via their website that those submitting evidence do not focus on personal detail or experience, given that ministers are unable to comment on or influence individual cases.
You seem certain that this person accepted money from the firm. What makes you think that? There is no indication of that whatsoever in the submission, and so making a presumption in this regard is hardly fair.
Perhaps consider educating yourself before casually blaming the victim.
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We don't know who the victim is at this stage.
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We don't know who the victim is at this stage.
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I am blaming the victim. I'm blaming them explicitly for facilitating the abuse by the partner and people like them of their future victims. Great that they have now found enough courage to want to make it public, but pretending that the initial cover-up and NDA was not partially their responsibility is just shoddy.
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It is easy to judge and blame from afar, under the guise of 'anonymous user'. If you're so certain of your own views, I would suggest making these offensive comments in your own name.
Victims of sexual assault and harassment should never be blamed. I would suggest directing some of your vitriol towards the harasser / abuser.
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How convenient and straightforward for you, that you view this issue so simplistically.
Educate yourself on the complexity of these issues: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
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