'Don't worry, it's dark outside so no-one will spot us.'
An Allen & Overy partner* has resigned after he was filmed through a window enjoying the company of a junior colleague.
The lawyer was caught on camera in the Magic Circle firm's London office by a member of the public who was walking through Spitalfields Market.
"Are they...are they..?" asks the stunned pedestrian in the short clip, as his companion jokes, "Are you okay hon?"
'Matt Hancock? Hold my beer.'
The camera zooms in to show a younger woman embracing the older, white-haired partner, who, in broad daylight, in a glass-fronted office, which opens onto a London market, proceeds to merrily move through the bases while rubbing against her.
"Oh. My. God", remarks the cameraman, who spared audiences the worst of it by slapping a Parental Advisory sticker over the cursed footage before releasing it online. "Watch his hands, look at his hands", mutters his companion.
'If only those uptight regulatory lawyers could see me now.'
The incident occurred several months ago and has been entertaining WhatsApp groups ever since.
But the cost has been high for the partner, who was not supposed to be in the office at the time, and was definitely not supposed to be in the office breaching social distancing guidelines by fumbling at a youngster, and was absolutely not meant to do it all on Instagram.
Once news of his indiscretion reached the wider partnership, he was permitted to resign.
'Do you get the feeling we're being watched?' 'Sshhh, it's just the exercise ball.'
His ignorance of the properties of glass recalls the former Hogan Lovells solicitor who was filmed through a window looking at naughty websites, and the woman who chose to void her bowels beside a busy Norwich road by crouching behind a bush, in full view of everyone working in the Mills & Reeve office on the other side of it.
A spokesman for Allen & Overy said, "The video depicts inappropriate workplace conduct which is not in line with our Code of Conduct. The matter has been investigated and addressed in line with the firm’s internal processes”.
*Offending partner is not actually called Alan.
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Comments
35
7
Observation 14 August 21 10:29 and Anon 14 August 21 12:34 are so right. This sort of destructive conduct no doubt is caused by the pressures of work. We need to do more as a profession to assist people before things like this happen. At least now he has left A&O, the partner can seek help.
41
4
This kind of reckless, risk-taking behaviour is indicative of deep-seated problems. People of a normal mindset do not have sex in the office where they can be seen, and it is obvious that this sort of conduct is inappropriate.
35
5
We all agree that having sex in the office is inappropriate.
9
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15th @ 19.49 - agreed, you are a victim
9
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15th @ 21.37 - we know that 30 year old women go for partners.
7
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@6.12 - Why do you think that when they were both having sex in the office, and in a public area of the workplace, he (male) behaved inappropriately and needs help, and she (female) doesn't?
6
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@6.17 - what sort of conduct? Help for what?
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@6.21 - thanks for sharing your thoughts on the junior. What are your thoughts on the partner?
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Lord Lester 15 August 21 19:49: I just wish those chaps at the BSB did clear me and apologise, etc. In fact, the rotters did no such thing: they merely cleared me to practise, which of course is entirely different, but which I have to accept makes sense (although it makes me choke on my claret a bit) because, as they rightly found, they obviously had no jurisdiction to interfere with the findings of an unconnected tribunal.
5
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@6.51 - clearly not all of us, both male and female!
We do all agree that partners having consensual sex isn't inappropriate.
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Anonymous 13 August 21 10:19: spot on.
6
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I don't concur with that...
Neither does the BSB.
23
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City 16 August 21 06:21 - absolutely.
21
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Alas, those chaps at the BSB didn’t clear me.
29
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Anon 16 August 21 06:51 - agreed. Hence the partner had to go. As others have said, his conduct might have been avoided had he had help earlier.
23
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Lord Lester 15 August 21 19:49 - agreed that you are not the victim. The woman you harassed was.
24
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It is the risk-taking here which is most indicative of mental health problems.
27
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It was obviously right that the partner went. You can’t behave like that as a partner.
24
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?! 13 August 21 14:24: sums it up perfectly.
7
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@08.18 - no, they did clear you, as indeed their jurisdiction allowed them to.
10
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@8.23/[email protected] - indeed, 13th @ 10.19's comments sum up her/your views perfectly. However, they aren't everyone's views and what consenting adults do is none of our business. Jealousy, prudishness, or whatever other reason doesn't give us the right to tell consentinv adults who to sleep with and who not to sleep with.
6
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@9.00 - actually they did.
7
27
If the amateur film-maker is a lawyer the regulators might be interested in them.
13
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ROFL
32
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The comments and voting speak with one voice. This was inappropriate conduct by the partner.
32
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A Hancock moment! What an error of judgement displayed by the partner.
8
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16th @ 10.47 - the risk-taking of the partner, the junior, or both? What mental health oroblems do you think it is indicative of and why?
11
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16th @ 11.04 - correct, ?! summed it up perfectly when they agreed that people who work together having a consensual relationship isn't a big deal as far as work goes. It is wrong if either or both are involved in relationships, but its not for the firm to police.
Unfortunately a lot of the criticism directed towards people in cases like this does arise out of jealousy. You may not be jealous, but a lot of people doing the criticising will be.
Criticism would be best directed at the person filming it all and circulating it. That sounds 'creepy'.
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Anon 16 August 21 11:04: absolutely. Sex in the office is inappropriate. Goes without saying.
25
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Anonymous 17 August 21 12:18: "Criticism would be best directed at the person filming it all and circulating it." Stop trolling.
11
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@14.23 - correct, goes without saying that it is inappropriate for junior lawyers to have sex in the office.
26
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Anonymous 17 August 21 14:55: it is inappropriate for any lawyer to have sex in the office.
5
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@14.52 - are you saying you condone the film-maker? Sounds like the one who needs to stop trolling is you!
6
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"it is inappropriate for junior lawyers to have sex in the office"
Hold on now, let's not say anything in haste that we might regret later...
4
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Looking at it objectively, the only person who can be said to have behaved maliciously is the person filming it and sharing the contents.
24
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Anonymous 17 August 21 16:40; Anonymous 17 August 21 18:15: stop trolling.
23
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Lord Lester 17 August 21 17:50: I never tried to have sex in my office with the lady I was found to have harassed - I tried to have sex with her in the comfort of my home in Herne Hill. My offers to her of a peerage in exchange for sex, however, were made in the glorious surroundings of the House of Lords.
I am now off to write another book on equality and human rights.
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Anonymous 17 August 21 16:40: not condoning. Just picking you up on your statement that criticism should be "best directed" at the film maker. Which is obvious trolling.
22
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Sex in the office is inappropriate. Anyone contending to the contrary is doing so in bad faith.
5
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17th@ 17.50 - correct, let's not say things we might regret later, such as its inappropriate for partners to have sex.
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Anonymous 18 August 21 10:16: stop trolling. Nobody has said that it is inappropriate for partners to have sex.
8
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@7.36 - if you think those comments are trolling then it seems the one who is trolling is you!
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@7.41 - you certainly weren't found to have done any if that by the BSB!
5
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@7.43 - but criticism is obviously best directed at the amateur film-maker. Why would you think that saying so is trolling?
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@7.53 - thanks for confirming that you think the junior having sex in the office is inappropriate and that anyone contending to the contrary is doing so in bad faith. What are your thoughts on the partner?
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@12.23 - if you are saying that nobody is saying that it is inappropriate for partners to have sex then the one who should stop trolling is you!
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Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:05; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:45; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:46: stop trolling.
6
22
The 'look at his hands' comment sounds a bit creepy.
22
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Neither of them should have been having sex in the office.
4
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18th @ 18.54 - if you're saying that Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:05; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:45; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:46 is trolling, then I think the one who should stop trolling is you!
31
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@City - agreed
26
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Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:05; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:45; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:46; Anonymous 18 August 21 17:43; Anonymous 19 August 21 06:22; Anonymous 19 August 21 12:07: stop trolling.
29
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City 19 August 21 11:48: spot on. We are all agreed that having sex in the office is inappropriate.
10
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@ 11:09
I know what you mean, I have experienced exactly what you describe. Entirely how she draped herself around that office chair like a tiger in latex I will never understand, since I revved out of her office with the speed of a stolen Lamborghini. It may sound amusing now but was not back then, even though I didn't have any senior roles. The main problem then was that I knew she already dated a senior.
9
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When discussing whether she has been fired too: what is the UK employment law position about this? There are juristdictions where consensual sex between adults is not so much a thing (onviously, postmodernism has some further battles to fight Oo) so you could not fire the employees but just the partner who does not benefit from those protection laws.
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19th @ 15.27 - if you're saying that Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:03; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:05; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:45; Anonymous 18 August 21 13:46; Anonymous 18 August 21 17:43; Anonymous 19 August 21 06:22; Anonymous 19 August 21 12:07 is trolling, then I think the one who should stop trolling is you!
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19th @ 15.28 - spot on, we agree that they shouldn't do it but that it is worse to film it without their consent.
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19th @ 21.32 - are you talking about a female partner?
7
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@ Your Name - what jurisdictions are those?
Where consensual sex isn't so much a 'thing' and junior females are allowed to have sex in the office.
8
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20th @08:42 No, none of us were partners but I knew she was on her way up faster than me, and as I said she was already dating a senior. Frankly I have no idea what she possibly could see in me and I panicked.
4
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How old was the female .. approximatley ?
8
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Does this actually happen ...female associates who date/have flings with partners progress faster through the firm and get promoted?
What about those associates who don't have flings and work just as hard?
23
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Anonymous 20 August 21 08:40: stop trolling.
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Anonymous 20 August 21 08:41: we agree that it is worse for people to be having sex in the office.
22
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Sex in the office is inappropriate and indicative of mental health issues.
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Anonymous 20 August 21 08:41: stop trolling.
8
16
Not sure what's the fuss. This is rampant.
9
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20th @ 16.09 - female associates who date/have flings with partners sometimes progress faster, as do male associates who date/have flings with partners. And also females and males who flirt with partners sometimes progress faster.
However this doesn't always happen, and a lot of the time the reason behind people being against female associates dating or having a fling with partners is jealousy, misandry or moral disapproval. Where its consensual and doesn't harm anyone its not really our business.
17
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Anonymous 24 August 21 07:42: sexual relations between senior and junior lawyers is inappropriate if the senior is the junior's line manager. And sex in the office is always inappropriate.
10
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25th @ 21.34 - why do you think its inappropriate?
17
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What is going on in the comments section.... people seem to think bonking in the office isn't an activity that's sanctionable?! Who cares what they get up to out of office if it's consenting, but it's plain weird to suggest that you can't be fired for fucking in public view from your office!
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Anonymous 03 September 21 14:52: stop trolling.
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Confused 03 September 21 18:45: don’t worry: everyone is agreed that sex in the office is inappropriate and worthy of sanction. There is a lone troll who purports to think otherwise, but he/she is putting forward that position in bad faith.